Escape the Fate
by letsbefrankimawkward
Summary: What if you didn't want what you were destined to have? Give it a chance. COMPLETE
1. On To The Next One

**Note**: Hello. This is my first _South of Nowhere_ fanfiction. I just want to say that while there is a small supernatural element in this story (because I consider the idea of fate supernatural, just my personal opinion, don't judge), I do not consider it that kind of story. Also, I do not actually believe the stuff I am talking about, like soul mates, destiny, and stuff. It's just for the sake of the story. I'm way too logic oriented for that (not that I have anything against people who do believe, I actually envy you. I wish I had your faith). And yes, the story is named after the band _Escape the Fate _and all of the chapters will be song titles from them. I'll try to make the titles make sense with what the chapter is about, but don't keep your hopes up.

On another note, yes this is in fact a Spashley story. You're just going to have to be patient.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the show, but I can't imagine anyone thinking I do.

**CHAPTER ONE: **_**On To The Next One **_

Spencer was sweating. It was mid-February and she was sweating. It was mid-February, she was outside, and she was sweating.

Welcome to Texas.

She stood outside her new home in her new neighborhood in Dallas. She had only been in Texas for a week and she was already sick of the heat. Sure, Ohio got hot, but in the _summer. _It was _winter_. Right now the lawn of her new home should be covered in snow and she should be wearing jeans with long underwear underneath and four layers over her torso to keep her warm. She should have on the nice leather gloves that she had received two years ago for Christmas. The sad thought came to her that she would probably never get to wear them again. At least not without her hands sweating profusely.

Instead of snow, her lawn was empty, save the bright green, well kept, grass and the two trees that stood on it. Instead of wearing multiple layers to keep warm, Spencer was wearing a pair of forest green khaki shorts and a plain white tee shirt with flip flops. She felt very odd wearing such clothes in February, but it was appropriate for the weather, and she was _still_ sweating.

Looking up at her new home, she couldn't get over how big it was compared to the one she had grown up in. She had asked her father how they could afford such a home and he had told her that her mother made more money at the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital than the one where she had worked before and in addition, it was much cheaper to live in Texas than in Ohio. In fact, they were saving so much money that her parents could afford to send her and her two brothers to private school.

Spencer wasn't sure how she felt about that. Sure it was a better education, but she had always remembered the people who had gone to private school in her old town in Ohio being particularly rude and in general, full of themselves. True, her old town had been much smaller than the major metropolis of Dallas, and there had been only one private school and one public school, the majority of kids, the less wealthy ones, going to the public school. But here, she had learned that along with several public schools, there were several, if not just as many, private schools and many more kids attended them. It seemed that here, going to a private school was less of an accomplishment, and so, there was less to boast about. Despite this, she still made a silent vow in her head to never let the fact that she was getting a college preparatory education make her into one of the snobby girls she had hated back in Ohio.

Clay, one of Spencer's older brothers, was ecstatic about attending a private school. He was pretty much the nerd of the siblings, if they had to be labeled, and he was looking forward to the more challenging classes he was offered.

Glen, her other brother, couldn't really care less. To be honest, the whole family was surprised he was even able to get into the school seeing as how you had to pass a test to be admitted. But he passed, albeit, barely.

They had all just received their letters from the school earlier in the day saying that they were admitted and could start next week at the beginning of the trimester.

There was another thing that was weird. _Trimester_. Not _semester. Trimester._ In her new school the year was divided into three parts instead of two. Weird.

Spencer clutched at the acceptance letter in her hand.

If she or either of her siblings had not been accepted (as if Clay ever _didn't_ have a chance), then her parents would have enrolled them at the public school for her district, Hillcrest High School. But this was not the case and Spencer would never know what Texas public school was like.

She heard a small 'meow' below her and looked down to see a tan and brown cat at her feet, rubbing it's body against her ankles. She picked the feline up and cradled him with one arm, the cat burrowing into her chest and looking up at his owner affectionately.

She looked back down at the paper in her hand. This Monday, Spencer would start her first day at Greenhill School. She couldn't tell whether she was scared or excited. Probably both.

**XXX**

"Holy shit! This place is huge!" Glen exclaimed as he drove through the open gates of Greenhill School to into the parking lot. He was right. The campus was massive, but both Spencer and Clay had already known that seeing as they had bothered to look at the map that the school had provided them along with their acceptance letters.

"And this is just the Upper School area," Clay commented.

"Upper School?" Glen asked, confused as he searched for a parking spot.

"Did you even glance at the packet they gave us?" Spencer questioned.

"They gave us a packet?"

Spencer simply rolled her eyes at her brother's oblivion to anything that didn't have to do with basketball and girls.

"Hey, there's a spot!" Glen yelled as he pulled into the available space.

"No! You can't park there!" Clay yelled. "Don't you see the big FACULTY painted on it?!"

"So what?"

"Glen, pull out!"

"That's what she said!" Glen's eyes sparkled in amusement at the overdone, yet somehow still funny joke. Spencer and Clay couldn't help but give in to a little laugh at this while Glen backed out of the spot and went in search of another.

Five minutes later the three siblings were making their way to the Dean's office with Clay's directions as he looked at the map. They were getting a lot of stares as they walked through the quad to the main building of the Upper School and Spencer began to feel self-conscious on top of her already nervous state, wondering if her attire was acceptable. She made sure to take into account the school's dress code when she picked out her clothes this morning. She was wearing a pair of somewhat baggy black Capri pants with cargo pockets topped with a multicolored cloth belt, a blue tank top, and red low-top converse. Glen was winking at cute girls, comfortable in his camouflage cargo shorts, an old white Ohio State tee shirt, and his signature flip-flops. Clay was too focused on the map to notice anyone staring at him, but his attire was always presentable and inoffensive and today was no different as he wore his typical khaki pants, a pale orange collared knit shirt, and a pair of Nike trainers.

They walked through a covered area with a bunch of tables and chairs into the building and Clay immediately stopped once they were inside.

"What is it, Clay?" Spencer asked.

"According to my map, the Dean's office should be right…" Clay turned his whole body to the left. "Here."

Sure enough, right in front them was a clear glass door with "Dean's Office" written on it in green. It seemed like a random place for an office seeing as how the rest of the space appeared to be a student hang out.

With Clay in the lead, the three approached the clear door where they could see a bald African American man sitting behind a desk looking through papers. Tentatively, Clay knocked on the door. The man behind the desk looked up and smiled at them before a look of confusion flashed across his face and then went back to smiling, motioning for them to come in.

At first, Spencer had an internal sigh of relief at the nice and understanding face of the man, but the small questioning glance had flooded her with nerves all over again.

The three walked into the office while the Dean got up and waited for them to all get inside before he closed the door and went back to his desk.

"Well, I'm assuming you three are the Carlin's. Am I correct?" he asked as he gestured for them to all pull up a seat. While Spencer sat in the one seat that was already in front of the desk, Glen and Clay took two of the other few chairs that were in the room against one of the walls and dragged them to the desk next to their sister and sat down on either side of her. The Dean couldn't help but take note of this. It was like the two brothers were surrounding their younger sister as if to protect her.

"Yes, Sir. We're the Carlin's," Clay answered as he sat down.

The Dean didn't even take a second questioning glance at Clay when he said this, which the boy and his brother and sister appreciated. While Glen and Spencer easily looked like brother and sister with blond hair and blues eyes, Clay stuck out most obviously because of his skin color. The young black boy had been adopted by the Carlin's when he was eight and while he always understood why people usually questioned his relation to his siblings as well as mother and father, it still annoyed him.

No, the questioning glance instead went to Spencer. The Dean had been made to believe that all three of the siblings were male, but here they were, sitting in his office making it apparent that he was wrong.

"Well, I'm Al Knoll, Dean of the Upper School, but you can just call me Dean. Now," his gaze stayed on Spencer for a moment before he let it wander between them all, "who's who?"

"I'm Glen, this is Spencer, and that's Clay," the blond boy said, pointing to each of his siblings as he said their name.

"Okay," the Dean began, "I'm afraid to say there has been a small mix up." He glanced at Spencer when he said this, doubling her nerves as she began to feel the build up of a nervous sweat at her hairline. She couldn't help but think that she would constantly be sweating thanks to this geographical move her family had made. "In your file that we have started for you," he said still looking at Spencer, "it was written that you were male. I can see now that it was a mistake."

Spencer let out a small sigh of relief that this was the problem. 'Spencer' wasn't exactly a common girls name, but she always felt that it suited her, and so she never minded that much when people only going off of her name assumed that she was a boy. She was, however, slightly irritated because she knew for a fact that when she and her father had been filling out her forms, neither of them checked the box marked 'male.'

"I marked 'female' in all the forms," she said, her slight irritation giving her a sort of confidence boost. The high and mighty private school wasn't perfect after all.

"Hmmm," the Dean said as he opened up another folder on his desk and looked through it. "Ah, yes. Here it is, and you are right. You did mark 'female.' Not that I thought you were lying, I assure you."

Spencer was almost positive that if anyone else had said that she would have rolled her eyes, but he was so sincere. It didn't sound like he had ever accused her of marking the wrong box, but was simply trying to be thorough in finding the root of the problem. She was now officially positive that she liked this man.

"Uh oh," the Dean started again. "It seems you also checked the box marked 'sophomore' and I have you here as a junior. It will just take a few minutes to get a new schedule for you." He then picked up his office phone and pressed a few numbers. "Pam? … It seems that we've made a bit of a mistake. Spencer Carlin is a sophomore, not a junior. Could you- …Yes. Oh, andwe've also been mistaken in her gender. Spencer is female … Great. Thank you." He hung up the phone and turned back to the Carlin children.

"Okay then. I'm sorry about that, but it's all worked out now."

Spencer just smiled and gave a small nod.

"Well, Glen and Clay, here are your schedules. You're both juniors and male, right?" He said with a small smile on his face, handing the papers to the boys, his voice laced with humor for the second part of the question and a hint of real concern for the first.

"Yes and _definitely_ yes," Glen said as he and his brother took their schedules.

The Dean smiled again and then made the siblings aware of three students standing outside the door waiting. He waved them in smiling, but his eyes widened in realization as his took in a tall boy, about Glen's height, with messy dark hair and green eyes.

"Oh, no, Spencer, I'm sorry. We tried to pick students that you each shared several classes with to show you around on your first day, but because we had you down as a junior, we assigned you a junior who you would have had a few classes with. Would you like me to find you a sophomore to show you around?" He said, his hand going for the phone on his desk.

"No, no," she insisted, standing up, along with her brothers. "I can figure it out on my own."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I can still show you around," the tall green-eyed boy who was standing next to two other students kindly offered, making Spencer turn around.

"Are you sure, Aiden?" the Dean asked.

"Of course," the boy identified as Aiden said. He then finally focused his attention on the girl he would be showing around and when their eyes met, something inside both of them clicked and they both couldn't help but smiled at each other.

"Great," the Dean said. "Clay, you and Sean," he waved over a black boy with a small afro and studs in his ears, "are both primarily in honors and AP classes, and Clay, you were on the Chess Team at your old high school. Well, Sean here is the Captain of it. I'm sure you two will get along great."

The two boys shook hands and exchanged short pleasantries before heading out the door in search of their classes.

"And Glen, you and Madison share three classes, one of which starts in five minutes, so you better get going."

All Glen needed to do was take one look at the very attractive girl named Madison and he was as happy as could be. She was clearly Hispanic with dark skin and hair with highlights. She wore a black and blue plaid skirt with heels and a button up teal green shirt.

It was clear that Madison approved of Glen's outer appearance as well by the smirk on her face.

"After you," Glen said, gesturing with his arm for the girl to exit the office first and the two walked away, starting up a small, but playfully friendly conversation.

The Dean turned to Spencer and Aiden, who had yet to say anything to each other, but for some reason found each other's presence comforting.

"Spencer, once we get your new schedule, you two can be one your way and I'll write notes for each of you to be excused for being late to your first class. Aiden, I want you to keep the note and continue to use it for each of your classes in case you're late while you show Spencer around on her first day. I'll include that in the note, so don't worry."

The Dean quickly wrote up the notes and handed them over to the respective students. He then took in Spencer's clothes. "Spencer, could you please lift up your arms?" he asked.

Spencer set down her light blue messenger bag for the first time since being on the campus and complied. The Dean was satisfied when the tank top still covered her midriff.

"And place your first three fingers over the strap of your shirt."

Again, Spencer complied and again the Dean was satisfied when the strap of the top was a little wider than the width of her three fingers.

"Good," the Dean approved. "You're aware of our dress code then?"

Spencer nodded. After her and her mother, Paula, had read over Greenhill's dress code, the two went shopping to expand her school wardrobe. It wasn't that most of her clothes were terribly inappropriate and none of them could be considered slutty, but the school had a strict dress code policy that her old school didn't and they saw no reason to take chances.

Spencer picked up her bag again and slung it over her neck to rest on her opposite shoulder where it had previously been.

There was a small moment of silence before a woman walked through the open door of the office with a piece of paper in her hand and a cheery and warm smile on her face.

"Hello, Pam," the Dean said to the woman, identifying her as the person he had spoken to on the phone earlier.

"Hello, Mr. Knoll." Her voice was sincere and she gave off a vibe that said 'you can trust me.' She looked to Spencer and her smile grew. "You must be Spencer. I'm Pam Kinhops, the Office Coordinator." She held out her hand and Spencer gladly shook it, instantly liking the woman.

"Nice to meet you," Spencer replied, once again, brightening the woman's smile.

"Here's your new schedule." The woman held out the piece of paper she had been holding and Spencer shyly reached out and took it. "Sorry about the confusion."

"It's no problem."

"Feel free to stop by my office if you ever need anything or just wanna say 'hi.' Aiden can show you where it is." She kindly rested a hand on the boys arm and he nodded in compliance.

"Thank you."

"Well, I better get going. I hope you have a good first day!" She flashed Spencer one more smile and was off.

The Dean took a look at his watch and frowned. "Get going, you two. First period has started."

"I didn't hear a bell," Spencer started to panic, worried that their bell was some special sound that she couldn't hear for some reason, or perhaps is was just some ordinary sound that she didn't think anything of and so she would never be on time to class.

"There is no bell," Aiden told her, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his blue jeans.

"It's your responsibility to keep track of the time," the Dean told her, his voice now taking on a somewhat stern, but still gentle tone. "There are clocks in every room of every building and outside in the quad we have the clock tower, so you will always be able to tell what time it is."

Spencer nodded, relieved that she didn't miss the bell, but a little nervous about now having to manage the time in her day. "I hope someone tells Glen or he'll never get to class." She wasn't worried about Clay. He was always early to class anyway.

"Well, he has Madison to show him around and teachers should be lenient on his first day. He'll figure it out."

"You'd think so, but…."

Aiden and the Dean chuckled a little before the older man began to usher the two out of his office.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him and tell him if I see him," he reassured the young girl.

"Thank you," she smiled at the kind man one last time before following the tall boy out of the office and through another pair of glass doors, which lead to a much larger room covered in grey carpet where many students were studying at tables.

"Noah, do you have first period free?" the Dean asked a lone student sitting down at a table with a PSP in his hands with a voice that said 'I already know the answer to this question.'

The boy looked down sheepishly and put his game away before grabbing his bag and standing up, heading towards the other pair of glass doors that lead to the same large, grey-carpeted room.

"That's what I thought." The Dean then retreated into his office and closed the door before sitting down at his desk and starting on some mindless paperwork.

**XXX**

Spencer sat in her first period class, European History. The teacher had excused her for being late as it was her first day before he even saw the note. When she presented it to him he made a lame attempt at a terribly forgettable joke and Spencer was the only one to respond with the courteous 'I'm smiling at this joke because you are an authority figure and not because it is funny' smile, simply because he was looking right at her. The rest of the class rolled their eyes behind him and one boy even held up a hand to his head as if it were a gun and pretended to shoot himself.

She turned back around to Aiden and thanked him, the two sharing one last brief moment of eye contact and a secret smile before she moved to find an empty seat in the classroom of around fifteen students. She had only moved one step when the teacher stopped her and had her stand in front of the class and introduce herself.

"Um, I'm Spencer Carlin," she said nervously.

She received from the class a various assortment of grunts and sighs that all loosely translated in 'hey.'

"Hello, Spencer. I'm Mr. Planter," the teacher identified himself. "Now before we get back to the lessen, I want you to first tell us where you're from and something about yourself."

Spencer nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Okay. I'm from Orange, Ohio and-"

"Were you born there or did you just grow up there?" Mr. Planter interrupted. Spencer looked at the teacher curiously as if to say, 'Why do you care?'

"I was born in Cleveland, and, uh, my family moved to Orange when I was seven." He nodded for her to continue. "I uh…" Her shoulders began to rise in a shrug, saying with her body language that she wasn't sure what she should say next.

"Just any old random fact about yourself," the teacher prodded.

"I have a cat." It came out as more of a question than a statement.

"What's its name?"

"Clark." Spencer was now very glad that when she received the then kitten on her 10th birthday that no one in her family allowed her to name him Mr. Fuzzywuzzyton as that would be particularly embarrassing to say now to a room of her classmates as a high school student. The name 'Clark' came to her the next day when she came across one of Clay's Superman comics.

"Next, I need someone to volunteer to lend Ms. Carlin his or her notes from the past trimesters so that she can get caught up."

Several boys and a few girls raised their hands, the girls seeming to do so out of kindness or to get in the teachers good graces, and the boys for reasons south of their waistlines.

"Ms. Woods, you always take good notes."

The boys lowered their hands dejected and the two other girls didn't seem to care either way as Mr. Planter motioned for Spencer to sit next to the girl who was the last to put her hand down.

Spencer ducked her head and made her way to her desk in the back row, although with the way the desks were arraigned it wasn't as out of the way as she would have liked. The back row, where she found her seat next to an empty desk and the brunette girl who would be providing her with notes, were all pushed together so all the desks were touching and the last few desks on the end curved inward. The next row up was shorter than the last one and the ends were not turned in, but the desks were still all pushed together. And that was it. There were only those two rows in the classroom and at the front was a bigger table for the teacher and behind that a white board.

As Spencer sat down and Mr. Planter continued on with his lecture, Spencer looked to the empty desk to her left and couldn't help but wonder if the teacher had chosen this girl for her note-taking skills or because she was one of two students who had an empty desk next to her, the other being the person two desks to her left, and he didn't raise his hand.

"I'm Kyla," the brunette next to her whispered as Spencer pulled out a notebook and pencil.

"Hi." Spencer saw no need to restate her name.

"We can talk after class about the notes."

Spencer nodded and turned her eyes forward, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying about the British Empire. Kyla seemed like a person who cared about school, so Spencer concluded that she probably did have good notes.

Spencer spent the rest of first period taking down the occasional important fact and mindlessly doodling in the margins of her notebook. It was only later that she realized that if you looked at the doodles carefully, they all spelled out the name 'Aiden.'

**Note:** Well, that was the first chapter. And I know, I know. It seems that right now it's going to be a Spencer and Aiden story, but I promise it's not. Just hang in there. Oh, and please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	2. Friends and Alibis

**Note: **Hello! Thank you for sticking with this. Here's a little shout out to my reviewers.

XxMya09xX: Thank you for being my first reviewer for this story!

lalalalee: You're not inarticulate. You're flattering! I think the whole Spencer and Aiden thing is harmless, too. To be honest I like Aiden and I think people are too mean to him, but I'm definitely a Spashley fan.

Water Queen 18: Your wait is over! And I could never make a Spaiden fic, although you are going to have to stomach them for a little bit. Sorry. I promise it will be worth it.

Stokley27: I'm glad I've got you hooked because your stories definitely have me hooked.

I just want to say again, that though it may seem that this is a Spencer/Aiden fic, I can assure you that it's not. You're jus going to have to trust me.

**CHAPTER TWO: **_**Friends and Alibis**_

"Ready for lunch?"

Spencer smiled at the boy. After each of her classes he had been waiting outside for her to walk her to her next one. She didn't know whether he was coincidentally getting out of all of his classes early, if he was leaving them early, or if he just hadn't been going to class, but she appreciated it.

She took in his appearance of blue jeans and a white tee shirt with a red and black plaid collared shirt over it with the sleeves rolled up and white _Adidas_ with black stripes. She always loved it when guys dressed like that. Not entirely sloppy, but not like they care too much. It was sexy. Definitely sexy.

"Yep."

The two walked through the grey-carpeted room that Spencer had learned was called the Elliot Center, into the student lounge and out into the quad.

"Did you bring your lunch?" Aiden asked as he began to unzip his backpack and take out a brown paper bag.

"No. I have money for the cafeteria."

The green-eyed boy winced and put the brown bag back into his school bag as he changed his direction to the building on the north side of the quad.

"What?" Spencer asked as she walked through a door that Aiden held open for her and found herself in the cafeteria.

"The food here......isn't exactly of the edible variety."

"It can't be any worse than any other school's food."

He led the girl to a line against the right wall.

"You'd be surprised. Deli or hot lunch?" Aiden indicated the two options Spencer had for food.

The deli area was open and had a variety of things from small pizzas to bread and lunch meats to pots for soup, none of which looked appetizing. The hot lunch area was behind a brick wall and on a chalkboard she could see what was being served today. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots, rolls, and cookies.

"What do you suggest?" Spencer looked between her options.

"I suggest you share my lunch with me and tomorrow bring your own."

"Oh, I can't…"

"It wouldn't be right of me to make you endure this stuff." He took her hand and led her out of the line and through the deli area to the other side of the brick wall where the end of the hot lunch line was. "We are gonna steal some cookies though because those are good."

Spencer giggled as Aiden grabbed a napkin full of cookies and stuffed them in his backpack before taking her hand again and leading her out of the deli area, passed the cashier who gave them a dirty look, knowing that when kids go into the back of the hot lunch line that they were stealing cookies.

The two walked out of the building and into the quad and sat down on a large rock where a few other students were seated, including Madison and Glen. Spencer was glad that Aiden had made the offer to share his lunch when she saw Glen poking at the 'food' on his tray. He had gone for the hot lunch and after a few minutes of moving the stuff around and taking maybe three bites, he dropped his fork and started in on the cookies, chewing happily, Madison giggling at his antics in a flirty manner, eating the apples from her bagged lunch.

"Hey, y'all," Aiden said, getting settled down and opening the bag that contained his lunch, Spencer sitting down next to him. "You're Spencer's brother Glen, right?" he asked the blond boy.

"Yeah. You're Aiden?"

The dark-haired boy nodded.

Glen looked to his sister. "He try anything on you?"

"Glen!" Spencer yelled at her brother, her cheeks turning red.

"What? I'm just looking out for you."

"Well don't. You're not Dad."

"Yeah, yeah." Glen waved her off. "Next time you need anything, don't come running to me."

Spencer rolled her eyes knowing that if anything ever happened to her, Glen would always come running like the over-protective big brother he was.

Aiden took a sandwich out of his bag and handed it to Spencer.

"I can't take your sandwich." She tried to give it back.

"Relax. I have two more." Aiden pushed her hand with the sandwich away from him.

"What? Why?" She began unwrapping the food from the plastic wrap that was around it.

"I always eat a lot when I'm training," he answered, unwrapping a sandwich of his own.

"You're always training," Madison said to him with a pointed look.

"So I'm always eating a lot." Aiden looked right at her, taking a big bite of the sandwich.

Spencer took one half of the cut sandwich and gave it to Glen as Aiden opened a bag of chips and left them open for Spencer to help herself.

"Training? What for?" Glen asked, devouring the half a sandwich he was given.

"Basketball. Our seasons over but I still gotta keep up my game. Especially for senior year."

"Oh, hey. I was a starting forward at my old school."

"One of our starting forwards is graduating this year. You should try out next season."

"I was planning on it."

"Cool. Me and a few others from the team use the gym here on the weekends and practice. You wanna come?"

"That'd be awesome. What position are you?"

"Point guard."

The two got into a heated discussion about the sport leaving Spencer and Madison and the other girl that sat next to her to talk.

"So, Spencer," the Latina began. "I'm Madison."

"Sherry," the girl sitting next to her introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you," Spencer replied.

"So you're from Ohio?" Sherry asked for confirmation.

"Yup."

"Orange, Ohio, right?" Madison asked.

"Uh, yeah…"

"Word travels fast here," Sherry explained. "Small school and all."

"You call this small?" Spencer asked, looking around at the large campus.

"Okay. Large school. Small population."

"It's Pre-K through 12. It can't be all that small," the blonde Ohio native pointed out.

"Well, there's about 100 students per grade, and compared to Plano West, the high school in my district, that's pretty small," Sherry said.

"There were about 200 kids per grade at my old high school, but it was small town."

The three continued there conversation while Glen and Aiden argued over the Cavaliers and the Mavericks. None of them heard the "heads up!"

A moment later a Frisbee smacked into the back of Madison's head startling the small group out of their conversations.

A boy ran up to them and immediately started apologizing.

"Oh, shit. Madison, I am so sorry!"

Madison rubbed the back of her head with her hand. "It's cool, Patrick. I'm fine," she said, her tone anything but sincere.

"Are you sure? You wanna go to the nurse?" the boy named Patrick asked.

"Yes, I'm sure!" She said annoyed.

Patrick was about to open his mouth to argue when Sherry intercepted the conversation.

"She said she was fine." She then thrust the discarded Frisbee into the remorseful looking boys hands and turned her back to him, indicating that the conversation was over.

It was so subtle. So…subdued. If that had happened to someone considered popular at her old high school, which she had easily figured out Madison was, that person would have bitched out the 'offender' causing a huge scene and claiming to be some kind of victim. Then off course, the rest of the 'normal' kids would roll their eyes while people fawned over her. But everyone would know that she was just a bitch.

This was different.

You couldn't tell from afar. But Madison and Sherry were, in fact, bitches. But people either didn't notice, or chose not to. I mean, it was easy to ignore it. It was under the radar. But it was still there. Spencer couldn't help but think that under the radar bitchiness was worse.

Next to her, Aiden rolled his eyes. "If I hadn't known her since I was five I would ignore her all together," he whispered to Spencer. "Hell, I only sat down with them because your brother was here."

She looked to the tall boy next to her and could see his honesty. He wasn't like them. He was genuine. She smiled at this, inadvertently smiling at the boy, but realizing that she was, and he smiled right back.

In the background, Spencer could here two friends greeting each other.

"Hey, Carmen."

"What's up, Ash?"

But she wasn't paying attention. She was too distracted with the green-eyed boy next to her.

**XXX**

"How was your first day?" the Carlin's father, Arthur, asked.

"It was great!" Clay immediately went into an explanation of all of his classes while his father sat and listened with enthusiasm, glad that his gifted son was finally getting some kind of challenge in school.

Spencer and Glen just rolled their eyes and went upstairs. It hadn't been a bad day for either of them, but neither of them was ever as excited to talk to their parents about their day as Clay had always been.

Spencer made her way to her room and flopped down on her bed. Her room in her new home was a little bigger than the one she'd had in Ohio and she even had her own en suite bathroom that she didn't have to share with anyone, which she thoroughly enjoyed, along with a walk in closet.

She stared up at all of the posters covering her walls. That had been the first thing she'd done when she walked into her room for the first time: covered the walls in posters. They weren't new posters. She'd had them in Ohio, and now that she had a little more wall space, none of them had to be on the ceiling. Looking at the posters reminded her of her old home. Not because they were posters of Ohio or anything. They were mostly for bands, movies, and television shows that she liked. No, the posters reminded her of her old home because she had had them in Ohio. They were familiar. If she didn't have the posters it would have been awhile before she would have been comfortable sleeping in her new room. She couldn't sleep in a place that wasn't familiar, but the posters made it familiar, so it was helpful.

She remembered when they first moved from Cleveland to Orange. It wasn't exactly a long move, but the house was new along with the neighborhood and people. She didn't sleep well for about a month.

Spencer sighed. She had a lot of homework to do and she might as well get started. She got off of her bed and moved to her desk where her school bag was and began taking out notebooks. Deciding to work of Algebra 2 first, she opened the textbook to the proper page and turned on her calculator.

She had only done a few problems when someone knocked on her door. She knew from the knocking that it was either her father or Clay. Glen or her mother would have just opened the door without knocking.

"Come in," she called out.

Her father opened the door and peaked in before stepping inside.

"Hey, Honey."

"What's up, Dad?"

"How was it?"

"_It_? _It _was fine. _It_ was fantastic. I love _it_," Spencer responded sarcastically.

"I'm glad you liked _it_," Arthur said with amusement in his eyes. "Now, how did you like school?"

"Well…"

"That bad?"

"No, no. It wasn't bad. The school was fine. The classes are a little harder. I still can't believe I qualified for Algebra 2," she explained.

"But?" Arthur prodded his youngest child.

"It's just," she began. "Some of the people."

"What about them?"

"Well, some of them were great. Like this guy Aiden. There was a mix up where they thought a was a junior, and a _guy_, I might add, but it all got figured out. Anyway, he was nice enough to show me around when he really didn't have to. And most of the faculty was cool. Like the Dean and all."

"I'm still waiting for the 'but.'"

Spencer let out a big breath before she began.

"At Orange High, when someone was a bitch, or an asshole, that's what they were. It was clear and obvious. They never tried or pretended to be nice. They were what they were. And it was obvious who everyone was. But at Greenhill, it's much more…hidden. People aren't just flat out rude to each other. The cruelty is hidden underneath. And it's worse because no one can see it."

"Spencer, was someone mean to you?"

"No, not to _me_."

"But, to other kids," he finished for her.

"Yeah, but it's hard to explain."

"Spencer, I'm a social worker. I understand. Bullying comes in all shapes and sizes."

Spencer just sighed.

"Hey," Arthur got her attention. "It doesn't matter what school you go to. There will always be mean kids. That's just part of adolescence."

"I guess."

"But, hey. That Aiden sounded nice."

"He was. So was this girl Kyla I got all my history notes from."

"Well there you go. Hang out with Aiden and Kyla, and you've got Clay and Glen there, too. Don't worry about anyone you don't like. As long as you're nice to them, then you're fine. Be the bigger person."

"Yeah, I know." Spencer smiled. Talking with her dad always made her feel better. "Thanks, Dad."

"Of course, Spence. That's what I'm here for. Well, I'll let you get back to your homework." Arthur kissed his daughter on the top of her head and moved to the door before turning back. "Oh, and we're having spaghetti tonight."

"Great." She smiled at her father one more time before he left and closed the door behind him and turned back to her homework.

**XXX**

"Hey, Spencer."

The blonde girl smiled at Aiden. "Hey, how are you?"

"Better now," the tall boy responded causing a light blush to cover Spencer's cheeks for a moment.

"Hey, Aiden, you had Caverty for English last year, right?" a girl asked him as Aiden and Spencer walked into the student hang out area from the quad before school started. She was about Spencer's height, if not a little shorter with long, curly brown hair with her bangs sweeping over her forehead. She wore a black _Led Zeppelin_ tee shirt and light blue jeans topped of with a black belt with a guitar-shaped belt buckle and on her feet were the most worn in pair of standard black and white low-top _Converse_ that Spencer had ever seen which were covered in song lyrics and markings from different colored highlighters. She even had a chain wallet that was hooked into a belt loop completing the look. It was all very tough looking, and yet, somehow she still looked feminine.

Next to her was another girl who was also a brunette, but her hair hung straight down her back with her bangs covering her forehead. She wore a white tank top and dark blue, almost black jeans with a studded belt and black and red _Vans_. She was a little shorter then the other girl and clearly shorter than Spencer.

"Yeah," Aiden responded to the girl with a smile. She, along with the other girl were two of his best friends.

"Great. Can you tell me what's stuck up her ass?"

Spencer, Aiden, and the other girl laughed.

"I don't know, but she definitely had it up there when I took her," he replied. He then realized that he had yet to introduce Spencer to the two girls. "Oh, I'm sorry. Spencer, this is Ashley," he gestured to the girl with the _Led Zeppelin_ tee shirt. "And Carmen," he signified the girl Ashley was with.

"Nice to meet you." Spencer smiled at the two girls.

"Likewise," Carmen responded.

"You're the new girl from Ohio, right?" Ashley asked.

"Yep, that's me. Ohio Girl," the blonde said.

"Cool. You guys like it here? I mean, you and your brothers," Ashley asked.

Spencer was about to respond when she realized that Ashley had said 'you guys' rather than 'y'all.' So far, she'd been hearing 'y'all' left and right from everybody. No one said 'you guys.' She hesitated and it did not go unnoticed.

"What's up?" Aiden asked Spencer.

"It's just, I haven't heard anyone say 'you guys' yet. They all say 'y'all.'"

"Very observant," Ashley said, impressed. "I'm from Los Angeles. I moved here at the beginning of freshman year."

"'Y'all' is definitely a southern thing," Carmen said.

The four continued talking for a moment before they had to get to class.

"Do you want me to walk you to your classes again, today?" Aiden asked Spencer after Ashley and Carmen had left.

"No, I know where they are now, but thank you," she responded. To be honest, she _did _want him to walk her to class, but she would feel bad about it if he were late without a note to excuse him.

"Alrighty then. I'll see you later." He left the student center and walked out to the quad towards the science building near the parking lot and Spencer walked through the Elliot Center towards her European History class. She got to class before the Mr. Planter and sat down at a desk. A moment later, Kyla sat down next her.

"Hey," Kyla greeted Spencer.

"Hey," the blond responded. "Oh, here you go." Spencer went into her messenger bag and got out the notebook that Kyla had lent to her filled with all of their notes for the past two trimesters. "Thank you so much." She handed the notebook to the brunette.

"No problem," she responded.

Spencer was finally able to take the time to really notice Kyla now as the day before had been more hectic. She was definitely a pretty girl. It was clear that she was of some kind of Asian ancestry, maybe, Filipino, and had thick brown hair that reached between her shoulder blades. She was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a pink shirt and a black half sweater with two ends that tied into a bow in the front along with black ballet flats. It all looked very cute on her.

They talked again for a moment before their teacher arrived and Kyla was immediately at attention. She was definitely someone who cared about school.

**Note:** Please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	3. The Webs We Weave

**Note: **New chapter!

lalalalee: I'm sorry Kyla weirds you out. That was not my intention. Hopefully I can get rid of whatever makes you feel that way.

Water Queen 18: Carmen is, in fact, shorter than Spencer. I looked it up in their imdb pages after you said that to be sure.

Thanks to you both for reviewing!

**CHAPTER THREE: **_**The Webs We Weave**_

Spencer walked into her French class for third period and was surprised to see a familiar face that had not been in the class yesterday. The familiar girl noticed Spencer and smiled, waving her over to sit next to her.

"It's Spencer, right?"

"Yeah," the blonde responded.

"Cool."

"So, I didn't see you in this class yesterday."

"Oh, yeah. Me and Ashley ditched third and fourth yesterday," Carmen explained.

"Really?"

Carmen gave a knowing smile. "Not the ditching type, I presume?"

"Once, in seventh grade. After our parents dropped us off, a friend and I left school and went to the mall before first period started. Unfortunately, we forgot the little detail about the school calling our parents if we don't show up."

"Ouch."

"Yep. Since then, no ditching for me."

"Aw, come on. You can't give up that easily," Carmen encouraged.

"Someone's going to be a bad influence," Spencer said with a teasing smile.

"Only in the best way possible," Carmen assured her.

"Ah, Ms. Esposito. Nice of you to join us," the French teacher, Mrs. Lafayette, said in her thick French accent.

Carmen gave a big, fake smile to her least favorite teacher. "Oh, you know me. Can't stay away for too long."

Mrs. Lafayette was pretty much everyone's least favorite teacher. Aside from having no other qualifications to be a French teacher other than the fact that she was French, she was a complete bitch. In fact, some people had switched over to Spanish to avoid having to deal with her. Carmen, on the other hand, just hardly attended the class, along with any other class, but you would never know it by looking at her grades.

Spencer smirked and ducked her head, not wanting the teacher to see her amusement.

"Okay, class," Mrs. Lafayette, said. "Let's get started."

Fifty minutes of hell later, Spencer and Carmen were walking out of the classroom.

"You know that no ditching policy I have?" Spencer spoke to Carmen.

"Yeah."

"I think I need to amend it."

Carmen smirked and patted Spencer on the back as they walked to their lockers. "Good idea."

"Hey, Spencer."

The blonde Ohioan turned towards who was speaking to her and saw Madison walking towards her.

"Oh. Hey."

"What's up, Chica?" Madison asked, eyeing Carmen for a moment.

If Spencer didn't already know what to look for when dealing with Madison, she might have missed the displeased look that was on Madison's face for a fraction of a second before she slapped on the overly cheery, fake smile. Apparently Madison was not a fan of Carmen.

"I'll see you later, Spencer," Carmen said after an awkward moment.

"Yeah, okay," Spencer said as Carmen began backing away before turning around and leaving the locker room.

"So, what's up?" Madison asked again.

"Uh, nothing," Spencer said, and she walked around the other girl to get to her locker. "Just going to class."

Spencer didn't want to be rude to Madison, but she really didn't want to be friends with her either. She just had a bad feeling about the Latina. Not a horribly bad feeling, like she was bad in any sort of criminal way (although she did think Madison the type to do the occasional shoplifting, but, who didn't steal a candy bar when they were five?) or that she would try to completely ruin Spencer's life or something like that. It was a small feeling. She wasn't comfortable around Madison. She was however, comfortable around Kyla, Carmen, Ashley, and Aiden. Especially Aiden. Spencer smiled thinking about the tall boy.

"What are you smiling about?"

The sound of Madison's voice brought Spencer out of her thoughts.

"N-nothing," she stuttered a bit.

"Oh come on, Spen-."

"Hey, Spencer."

And just like that the boy of her dreams came to the rescue.

"Hey, Aiden," Spencer said, a full-blown smile lighting up her face which the boy returned.

"Hey, Aiden," Madison said.

"Oh," the boy noticed Madison for the first time. "Hey."

Spencer and Aiden made eye contact for a moment, both of them wanting Madison to leave, but neither wanting to vocalize this wish. Then, as if the universe had been listening, Glen came along.

"Hey, Madison," the blond boy greeted the Latina, subtly eyeing her up and down.

"Oh, hey," Madison said, giving the new boy a smile almost as big as the one Spencer and Aiden gave to each other.

"Would you like me to walk you to class?" Glen offered.

"Sure," the Latina said, flirtatiously.

"Later Spence; Aiden," Glen said, holding out his arm, indicating ladies first.

The two left and Spencer and Aiden chuckled watching their obvious flirtation as they walked away.

After their laugher died, the two eyed each other carefully.

"So…Can I walk you to class?" Aiden asked carefully, not wanting to get shot down again like he did this morning.

Spencer gave a heavily exaggerated sigh. "If you must." She eyed the boy carefully, making sure he knew that she was joking.

Aiden smiled and held out his arm for Spencer to take in the most forward action that either of them had ever dared to do with each other.

Spencer smiled and linked her arm with his.

"Oh, I definitely must," Aiden said.

**XXX**

Once again, it was lunchtime, but now Spencer was prepared with her own bag lunch, which she also saw Glen and Clay making for themselves that morning as well.

Spencer walked out into the quad and saw Glen, Madison, and Sherry sitting on some benches. Luckily, they didn't notice her. She also saw Clay and Sean sitting with a pretty black girl with short hair and an artsy look and Spencer smirked when it appeared that the girl and her brother were flirting.

She scanned the grounds for a moment longer and smiled when she saw Aiden with Carmen and Ashley sitting together on the concrete rising south of the quad. Aiden, who had sat facing the Upper School building in the hopes that he would see Spencer come out, noticed her first and smiled when she saw him. She made her way over to the small group and Aiden moved over a bit as she approached, making room for her. Carmen and Ashley smiled when they saw Spencer and greeted her.

"Glad to see you brought your own lunch today," Aiden said as Spencer sat down.

"I wasn't gonna make the same mistake twice," the blonde responded.

"Good thing, too 'cause Aiden needs all the food he can get for his 'training.'" Ashley held up her hands on either side of her head and made the hand signal for quotation marks when she said the words 'training.'

"I do!" Aiden shot back, his voice taking on the tone of a little kid who is trying to get his parents to understand his need for the newest Tonka Truck.

"Yeah, yeah." Ashley shook her head and got out her bag of Cheetos. "Yah jock."

Aiden just smiled at his friend and shook his head.

"You doin' okay there, Ash?" Carmen asked as she saw her friend struggling to open up her bag of chips.

"Uh huh," Ashley mumbled, trying to get a better grip on the bag and rip it open.

"You need some help there, Ash?" Aiden asked.

"Nope," the stubborn girl said.

They all were quiet for a moment, silently laughing at their friend's expense.

"You know, I'm pretty good at opening those bags," Spencer offered.

"I got it," Ashley said, drawing out the 'I' in her speech.

And suddenly, she did get it. All over the ground.

"Nooooooooo!" she yelled, her precious cheesy snack scattered over the grass and concrete.

Carmen and Aiden burst out into laughter while Spencer just giggled a little and mumbled, "I offered."

Ashley looked longingly at her Cheetos before her hand began to inch towards the ground.

"Stop it, Ashley. You're not eating them off the ground," Carmen said after she and Aiden had settled down from their laughter.

Ashley just crossed her arms and pouted, letting out a 'humph.'

"Here." Spencer pulled out a new bag a Cheetos from her paper bag and began to hand them over to the pouting girl. "Wait." Just as Ashley's face lit up, Spencer pulled them back and opened them herself on the first try. "Here you go."

Instead of taking the bag that the blonde offered, Ashley leaned over and pulled the girl into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She then let go of the shocked girl and grabbed the bag out her hand and immediately began happily munching on her favorite snack.

Spencer smiled at the girl. "No problem."

The four of them continued on with their lunch, talking and laughing until Aiden checked his watch and realized that he was late to meet a teacher.

"Oh shit!" The tall boy quickly gathered up his trash and threw it away before picking up his backpack and throwing it over his shoulder. "I gotta go. I was supposed to meet Ms. Henderson five minutes ago."

The three girls shouted various forms of 'goodbye' to him as he began walking away, but he quickly turned around and began walking backwards, making eye contact with Spencer, the two sharing another smile, before he turned back around and raced into the building.

Not much later, Carmen decided that she needed to attend English at least once this week, leaving Spencer and Ashley. The two talked for what seemed like minutes but was really two hours, missing two of their classes.

"Carmen would be so proud," the blonde said with a smile as the two headed into the Elliot Center having decided that they needed to at least attend their last class of the day.

**XXX **

Spencer was at her locker, done with her last class of the day and getting all the books she would need at home.

"Hey." "Hi." "What's up?"

Spencer turned to the people who had greeted her and saw Aiden, Ashley, and Carmen standing in front of her. "Hey, guys…." Spencer had barely gotten her words out before Glen walked up to her and started talking.

"Hey, Spence, listen. Can you get another ride home?"

"What? Why?"

"I was gonna go hang out with Madison."

The blonde girl had to contain herself from rolling her eyes. She didn't particularly like the Latina, too much, but Glen seemed to really like her, so she would keep her mouth shut about it. "What about Clay?"

"He's gonna hang out with Sean and some Chelsea girl and get a ride with them."

Spencer looked to her three new friends standing next to her and they all nodded, as if they all planned on giving the girl a ride home.

"Sure. That's cool."

"Great," Glen said excitedly. "Thanks." He didn't wait for a response before running off to find Madison.

Spencer turned back to her friends. "So…can I get a ride home?"

"I'd be glad to take you home," Aiden said, eagerly.

"I thought you did your workouts here after school," Carmen reminded the boy.

"Oh yeah," Aiden, remembered, disappointment crossing his features. "Well, I can miss one day of workouts.

"No, if you need to stay, stay," Spencer told him.

"Yeah, we can get her home," Ashley said.

Aiden turned to Spencer. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay," Spencer assured him. As much as she would like him to give her a ride home, she didn't want to inconvenience the boy. Besides, she liked Ashley and Carmen.

"O-kay," the green-eyed boy hesitated. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He hugged Carmen, then Ashley, and turned to Spencer. The two had yet to hug and Aiden wasn't sure if Spencer wanted to or not. He smiled when she held her arms open for him. The two hugged, both feeling very right in the action, before Aiden got his book bag and left, waving goodbye to the girls.

"Let's go," Ashley said, and lead the two other girls out to the parking lot.

"Do you guys carpool everyday?" Spencer asked the two brunettes as the three piled into Ashley's Porsche Cayenne.

"Yeah," Carmen responded. "I mean, I have a car, but I'm at Ashley's house most of the time anyway."

"Cool."

"So," Ashley began as she made her way out of the school parking lot. "You're more than welcome to hang out with me and Carmen at my place, or do you want to go home?"

"I'll hang out," Spencer said, pulling out her phone. "I just have to call home first."

Spencer hit speed dial two on her cell and her father picked up the house phone. After a very brief conversation, Spencer hung up, confirming that it was cool for her to hang out, and the three made their way to Ashley's house.

Spencer had already been able to tell that Ashley was wealthy when she saw what the girl drove, but when she saw her house, well she was blown away. It wasn't even a house. It was more like a mansion. Hell, it was called the Davies Estate.

"Jeez, Ash. What do your parents do?" Spencer asked.

"Have you heard of the band _Purple Venom_?" Ashley asked.

"That hair band from the 80's? Yeah."

"Hey, they still perform. Any way, the lead singer and guitarist is Raife Davies."

"Your last name is Davies."

"You're a smart one, ain't ya?" Carmen said with a smirk.

Ashley laughed. "Yes, that is my last name. Raife Davies is my dad."

"Holy shit!"

"Yep."

Spencer turned to Carmen. "And who is your dad? Kenny Chesney?"

"Uh, no. My last name is Esposito, remember?" Carmen said.

Spencer began to wrack her brain for any famous people she knew of whose last name was 'Esposito,' but she couldn't think of any.

"Stop it. My dad's not famous. He's a lawyer and my mom is an architect."

"That's cool," Spencer said. "My dad is a social worker and my mother is a doctor. What about your mom, Ash? What does she do?"

"The pool boy," the rock star's daughter responded with a cheeky grin, although it didn't sound like she was kidding. "I don't actually live with her anymore. She's still in L.A. My dad and I moved out here when he remarried."

"Do you like your step mom?" Spencer asked, wanting to know all she could about her new friends.

"Yeah, Anne's great. I mean, she treats me better than Christine ever did."

The three made their way through the mansion into Ashley's room. While Ashley and Carmen plopped down on the big king sized bed, Spencer stood awkwardly by the couch.

The two brunettes noticed Spencer feeling a little out of place and smirked at each other. Ashley got off of the bed and took the blonde by surprise when she picked Spencer up by her waist and managed to throw her onto the bed next to Carmen. Ashley then jumped on top of the other two girls and the three of them fell into a heap of hysteric laughter.

It was maybe an hour later while the girls were watching a movie when they heard someone coming up the steps.

A moment later there was a knock on the door before it was opened and Kyla Woods stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Ash. Can I borrow your Biology textbook? I forgot mine at school," Kyla asked.

"Mine's in my locker. Sorry," Ashley responded.

"Do ever bring it home?"

"Nope."

"I don't suppose you have yours with you, Carmen?"

"Ha! Mine's under my bed somewhere still in it's plastic wrap," Carmen said with a laugh.

"You can use mine," Spencer offered, still wondering what the girl was doing here but having a pretty good guess as she got up to get her school bag by the couch.

"Thanks, Spencer," Kyla said, with a sigh of relief.

"It's no problem. You lent me your notes. I lend you my book."

"You two know each other?" Ashley asked as Spencer handed Kyla the textbook.

"Yeah, we have class together," Kyla answered and Ashley shrugged.

"So how do you…." Spencer didn't get the chance to finish her question, which she was grateful for because she honestly had no idea what she was asking anyway.

"Remember when I told you that my dad remarried?" Ashley asked the blonde.

The Ohio native nodded.

"He married Kyla's mom." Ashley pointed to Kyla as she said this.

"Oh, cool." Spencer nodded. She had assumed that the two were related somehow since they were obviously living in the same house, but they didn't look anything alike, so stepsisters made sense.

With a promise to have her book back to her in no more than an hour, Kyla left the room and Spencer flung herself back onto the bed.

"So if you two live together and go the same school, why don't you ride to school in the same car?' Spencer asked Ashley.

"Kyla stays after school a lot to work with teachers and sometimes she goes to the homeless shelter to help out. It just makes it easier for us each to have our own cars."

Spencer could see the look in Ashley's eyes and she recognized it as pride for her sister's accomplishments. She could tell through that look that they were much closer as sisters than they let other people see.

**XXX**

Spencer waved goodbye to Ashley and Carmen as she walked into her front door and was overcome with the wonderful smell of her dad's cooking.

"I'm home!" she called out.

"Oh, hey, Spence, come in here for a minute!" Arthur called out to his youngest child.

Spencer dropped her messenger bag by the steps to take upstairs in a moment and went into the kitchen where her father was stirring something in a big pot on the stove.

"Hey, whatcha makin'?" Spencer asked.

"A Texas favorite: chili," Arthur said proudly. "Now come here and taste this." He held out a wooden spoon with one hand under it and guided it to Spencer's mouth.

Spencer took what was offered to her and closed her eyes at the taste. "Mmmmmmmmm. That's good."

"Good?!" her father said, exasperated. "I'm not going for good. I'm going for great! Fantastic! Perfect!"

"It's great! Fantastic! Perfect!" Spencer parroted.

"No, no, no. You can't just say it! It has to be true." Arthur began scurrying around the kitchen, getting this and that to try to improve the already 'exquisite with no room for improvement chili.'

"No, Dad!" Spencer stopped her father from adding anything else to the chili. "It's awesome, I swear."

"Really? Here, try it again." He held out another spoonful and Spencer again ate it.

"Perfect," Spencer said, looking directly at her father.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes!"

"Okay, great." Arthur smiled, satisfied with the girls answer. "Now go get your brothers to help you set the table. Your mother should be home any minute."

Spencer nodded and walked to the stairs, picked up her bag, and ascended up to the next level of the house to her room, where she dropped off her school bag and then went to retrieve her brothers.

Twenty minutes later, the five Carlin's were sitting around the kitchen table, holding hands and saying grace.

"Amen," they all said together before immediately digging in to Arthur's cooking.

They were all silent for a minute, their mouths stuffed with food, before Arthur started the conversation. "So, why did you three all come home separately today?" he asked his children.

"Well, I was hanging out with this chick…girl," Glen corrected himself after a glare from his mother and sister. "Clay and Spencer got separate rides so we could chill."

"And what was this girls name?" Paula, the mother asked.

"Madison."

"And what about you two?" the older version of Spencer questioned the younger and her other son.

"Well I got a ride home with Sean," Clay responded.

"And he is just great," Arthur added, having met the boy in question earlier today. "And very bright."

"What about Chelsea?" Glen asked, his mouth over flowing with chili.

"We, dropped her off at her house first," the adopted son explained.

"Who's Chelsea?" Paula asked, a gleam in her eye.

"Just another friend from school," Clay answered nervously.

Arthur could tell his shy son was nervous, so he shifted the focus to his daughter.

"And you, Spence?"

"I hung out with Ashley and Carmen before they dropped me off," Spencer said before taking another bite of her food.

"Not Aiden?" Glen questioned.

"Did I say Aiden? No, I said Ashley and Carmen."

"Whatever," the blonde boy responded.

"Who's Aiden?" Paula asked.

"Just this guy from school," Spencer answered shortly.

"The one who was nice enough to show you around on your first day, right?" Arthur filled in.

"Yup."

"And Ashley and Carmen?" Paula questioned.

"Some friends I met through Aiden.

"Well," the older woman began. "I'm glad to see that you're all making friends. See? I knew this move would work out."

**Note: **Please, please, please review. I am not above groveling. I want to, no, I NEED to know what y'all think. And don't worry. Spencer and Ashley will start getting closer. Very much so.


	4. Let It Go

**Note: **Fourth chapter! And all these reviews! That's what I'm talking about!

Stokley27: I never really liked the whole 'love and first sight' thing either. It makes it seem so unrealistic. When Spencer and Ashley get together, it will be because they fell in love. Over time. Thanks for you're review and I can't wait to see what you've got next for "A Question of Fate."

anLeyda: Thank you! It's good to know people understand what my story is all about.

Baley-fo-life: Better than the show?! That is quite the compliment. My ego is officially in overdrive. I always thought Aiden was pretty sweet, too and that people are too hard on him. But, yeah, him and Spencer or Ashley, not working for me. You've also got a little foreshadowing going on there. Thanks for reviewing!

Ryoko05: Thanks you for your trust and I promise I won't let you down. But I also would like to say that Madison is a bitch, but in a different way. You'll get another taste of her later. And I like Carmen, too. Just not the abusive kind. Thank you!

.HEART: Why thank you! I'm glad you like it! And don't you worry. Spashley will prevail.

cellochick373: Don't you worry, my friend. Spashley will be in this story. Just be patient and I promise it will be worth it. Thanks for reviewing!

prissy020304: Thank you! That is exactly what I am going for! A non-rushed piece for Spashley. I am so glad someone realized that. I don't want them to just get together. I want them to fall in love, and I don't think that should happen in an instant. Thank you for getting that and for reviewing!

EagleSenior: Thank you! They will be getting closer. And your hunch about Ashley and Carmen will be answered in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

McrFreak1991: Thank you! I like Aiden. Even in the show, though, but to each his/her own. And don't worry. You will get Spashley. Question- Does the Mcr in your name happen to stand for My Chemical Romance? If so, I love them, too. If not, disregard this. Thank you!

sparklyleathers08: I'm glad. I know I'm in love with this story, so I hope you and everyone else fall in love with it, too. Yes, Spashley is slow, but it's getting there and I'm glad you appreciate that. Thanks!

DaPhoenix: You shall be seeing how things are progressing right now! Thanks for the review!

Water Queen 18: Don't worry. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I promise it will be worth it. What's going on with Spencer and Carmen? Well, I don't know. I wasn't aware I was making anything seem like something was going on with them. Or did you mean Ashley and Carmen? If so, it will be all cleared up in this chapter. And yes, Glen is a jackass, but I like to think that he is a loveable jackass, like my own brothers. And finally, Cheetos rule and I too want some now. Thank you!

lalalalee: Haha! Glad to hear it. I too never liked the love at first sight kind of deal. And yes, my comments have gone up! Yay! Thank you for continuing to review!

Raingazer: Thank you! I like less-psycho Carmen, too and I'll keep the updates coming as fast as I can, my friend!

FullFathomF5ve: Hello! Well, I couldn't wait before to tell you how much you're review meant to me, but I'm going to tell you again. THANK YOU! Notice the all capitols.  Your review is spot on to everything I've been planning and hoping for this story. So again, I say THANK YOU. I have enjoyed reading your story, too. One last time. THANK YOU.

Now on with the story.

**CHAPTER FOUR: **_**Let It Go**_

Spencer felt like she was meant to do this. Just anther reason she knew that this was fate. Being with Aiden was fate. The universe had planned it and put it in motion. She had no control over it. The blonde girl had always been a romantic and loved the idea of destiny and soul mates, but for some reason, the idea that this was all done without her having any say in it bothered her. Sure, she liked Aiden, and if she was really honest with herself, she knew that she loved him, and she definitely loved kissing him, talking to him, and just generally spending time with him. She was supposed to. But that very thought, the one that she always assumed would make her happy, like she had finally found _the one_, for some reason didn't sit well with her. Rather than focus on these thoughts, though, she pushed them to the back of her mind, deciding to deal with them later, or maybe never, and continued on with the task at hand.

Kissing Aiden.

Her first week at her new school had passed, and on Friday, during lunch, after Ashley and Carmen had left the two alone, but not without a wink and a nudge in Aiden's direction, Aiden had asked Spencer if she would like to go out with him this weekend. She of course, said yes, and so, here they were. Here being White Rock Lake.

They had gone out to a movie, followed by dinner at Chili's (Aiden had wanted to take her out somewhere really nice, but Spencer had requested they keep it casual) and then Aiden decided to take Spencer to the park where he often went alone to collect his thoughts. The boy had confided in his date that he didn't bring people with him to the park because it was a place of solace for him, but he felt as though he needed to share this part of him with her.

If it had been any other girl, Aiden never would have confessed such a thing to her, let alone brought her there, especially on a first date.

Spencer knew that if it had been any other boy, she would have felt that he was moving too fast with the emotional aspects of the relationship.

But both of them knew that the pace of their relationship did not matter. They had yet to express these thoughts out loud, but they were both aware that they were meant to be.

So there they were, on a bench over looking the lake, kissing each other softly, feeling like they were supposed be, as Spencer desperately tried to push aside her feelings of losing control over her own life.

**XXX**

"Hey, Clay," Spencer said as she walked back into her house after her date with Aiden. He had been a perfect gentleman, walking her to the door and giving her a sweet kiss goodnight.

"Hey, Sis. Mom and Dad already went to bed and they wanted me to wait up for you." Clay was sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table watching television.

Spencer looked down at her watch and finally realized how late it was. Or technically, early.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry Clay."

"Oh, no. Hey, don't worry about it."

Spencer then heard the toilet flush and the sound of the sink running.

"Glen got home before I did?" she asked.

"Nope."

A moment later, a girl walked through the kitchen from the bathroom and sat down next to Clay on the couch.

"Spencer, this is Chelsea," Clay introduced. "Chelsea, this is my sister Spencer."

Spencer recognized the girl from when she saw her sitting on the bench with Clay and she recognized the name from when Glen said he was getting a ride home with her and Sean.

The girl immediately stood up and offered her hand to Spencer

"Hi. I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to meet you," Chelsea said as she and Spencer shook hands.

The blonde girl wished she could say the same, but every time someone would bring up the subject the of the girl he would always be talking to on the phone, who Spencer correctly assumed Chelsea was, he would get embarrassed.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Spencer responded. Well, she seemed nice enough.

It got quiet for moment and that is when Spencer realized that her brother was discretely motioning with his head and hand for her to leave.

"Well, it's late and I'm pretty tired," the blonde lied. "I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight."

"'Night, Sis." "Goodnight."

Spencer winked at her brother when his company wasn't looking before quickly making her way up the steps to her room.

She had been getting ready for bed when she heard her phone ring. Her screen flashed the name "Ashley."

"You are damn lucky I was already awake," Spencer answered her phone with.

"_Oh, I knew you were. Aiden is talking to Carmen right now and he told her that he just dropped you off at your house." _

"O-kay," Spencer hesitated.

Ashley sighed. _"It's a ritual. After Aiden has a first date with a girl, he calls us to tell us what happened so we can try to figure out what he did wrong." _

The blonde laughed. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"_That's what Carmen said, but I had to call you to be sure. This is a first for him." _

"Oh, really?"

"_Well, hey, it's not like he's always just god-awful. It's usually just little things. He talks about basketball too much or takes her to a really weird, exotic place to eat that no one else in the city of Dallas likes but him. Stuff like that."_

"Movie, Chili's, park."

"_Wait. White Rock Lake Park?" _

"Yup."

"_That's huge!" _

"I know."

"_No, I don't mean like the park is huge. Well, it is, but I don't mean like that. I mean it's huge for Aiden." _

"I know. He told me."

Suddenly Spencer could here Carmen on the phone. _"Girl, you must me all kinds of special." _

Not a moment later, Spencer got another call on her cell phone and the screen flashed "Aiden."

"Carmen, I thought you were on the phone with Aiden." Spencer said it like it was a question.

"_Oh, he hung up after I said Ashley was talking to you,"_ Carmen responded.

"Well, he's calling me now. Just a sec." Spence pressed a button on her phone so she could talk to Aiden. "Hey."

"_Spencer, I am so sorry. I wasn't even thinking. I always call them just to see what they think and I didn't even think about you. I am so so sorry!" _Aiden rushed out his words in hysterics.

"Aiden, it's fine," Spencer reassured him. "It's kind of cute actually."

"_So…. you're not mad?" _

"No."

Aiden let out a very audible sigh of relief.

"_You had fun tonight, right?"_

"Of course I did."

"_So that was something you wouldn't mind doing a second time?" _The boy sounded very nervous.

"There could even be a third and fourth if you'd like."

"_Definitely." _

There was small moment of silence before Spencer remembered that Ashley and Carmen were still on the other line.

"Well, I'm still on the phone with Thing One and Thing Two, so I'll talk to you later."

"_Yeah, okay. Bye and, uh…. sleep well." _

Spencer smiled. "You, too."

The two hung up and Spencer went back to Ashley and Carmen.

"Hey."

"_Hey!" _Ashley shouted. _"So is there a second date on the horizon?" _

"You guys are way too involved in our lives."

"_Well hey," _Carmen started. _"My love life is seriously lacking, so I do this to live vicariously through other people." _

"And you, Ashley?"

Earlier that week, Spencer had learned that Carmen was a lesbian and Ashley was bisexual and she had inquired as to whether they were together, to which both girls laughed hysterically and exclaimed that they were simply best friends.

It was slim pickings being in Texas, so while Carmen was looking for an actual relationship, Ashley just enjoyed having sex with guys and confused girls, not looking for anything that would tie her down.

Now, Greenhill didn't seem to have the kind of kids who just had sex all the time and were completely open about it, but they probably did it and it was just kept it to themselves. Ashley was no exception to this, especially because of her sexuality. Even though Dallas was a pretty liberal city, this was still Texas. Most of the school probably didn't even know the two girls were gay. It wasn't something they kept a secret, but they didn't go around advertising it either. If people did know, it wasn't talked about. Whether it was because the topic of being gay was taboo or that people just didn't care, Spencer wasn't sure, which was a far cry from her old town where there were homophobes left a right who would ridicule and insult anyone who had the courage to be out, which was very, very rare. What she did know was that since Ashley lost her virginity a year ago at 15, she hasn't gone a month without sex since then.

It sounded pretty slutty, but Spencer didn't think of Ashley as a slut. She just thought of her as a girl who was her friend. Whether that friend had a lot of sex or not wasn't the issue.

"_Hey, I'm just a concerned friend," _Ashley gave as her reason. _"Aiden hasn't always had the best luck with girls and he really likes you. I just want to help."_

"How has he not had luck with girls? Have you seen Aiden?" Spencer inquired. She couldn't imagine a boy with the looks that Aiden had and a personality to match could have trouble with girls.

"_He doesn't have trouble finding girls. He has trouble finding the right kind of girls."_

"And you think I'm the right kind of girl?"

_  
"Well, let's go through the checklist, shall we? Nice." _

"_Check," _Carmen said.

"_Smart." _

"_Check. _

"_Fun."_

"_Check." _

"_Funny." _

"_Check." _

"_Hot." _

"_Double check." _

"_Emotionally available and not a stuck up prude or a stupid whore." _

"_Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" _

Spencer laughed. "Well I'm glad I have your approval."

"_Oh, you should be," _Ashley informed her. _"You really should be."_

**XXX**

The next day, Spencer rolled over in her bed and looked at her alarm clock.

10:22 am.

She was still exhausted, having not fallen asleep until around 3:30 that morning. Spencer was a girl who needed her sleep. But she did not want to sleep too lake because Kyla was coming over later to do their homework. Grudgingly, Spencer sat up and forced her body out of bed and into her shower.

About twenty minutes later, Spencer emerged from her bathroom, drying herself off with a towel. She didn't bother using one to cover herself up since she was in her own room, so she took the towel and began to ring out her hair.

It was at that moment that Glen decided he needed something from his sister.

"Hey, Spence, do you…Ahhhhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Get the fuck out!"

Glen ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him yelling, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' all the way back to his room.

A few moments later, after Spencer had managed to put on some underwear, there was a knock on her door.

"Just a minute," the blonde girl called out. She quickly yanked a tank top on over her head and pulled on some cotton shorts. "Come in."

Arthur peeked his head into the room. "Honey, is everything okay? I heard you and Glen screaming bloody murder."

"Why don't you ask him?"

Arthur chuckled a little "Well, I knocked on his door, but he wouldn't answer and just yelled out, 'my eyes, they burn!'"

"The idiot doesn't have any decency. He just barges in here! I was naked!"

"Well, that should teach him a lesson on knocking," Arthur said with a smile.

"It better!"

"But you're both okay?"

"Scarred for life, but okay," Spencer responded.

"Good. What time is Kyla coming over?"

"Not 'til one."

"Okay. Well your mother offered to do another shift today, so she won't be back until late."

Spencer stopped combing her hair when she heard that. "She offered?"

"It's a new job and she just wants to make a good impression," her father explained, although he didn't really get it himself. They hired her. She clearly already made a good impression.

"I guess."

Arthur left and Spencer stripped off the cotton shorts she had thrown on in her haste and replaced them with a pair of jeans, leaving her tank top on. She then trekked down to the kitchen for a late breakfast.

A few hours later, the doorbell rang.

"Well, hello," Glen said, tying to be smooth when he answered the door and saw an attractive girl on the other side.

"Uh, hi. Is Spencer here?" Kyla asked.

Spencer hurried down the steps and smiled when she saw Kyla. "Yeah, hey. Come on in."

Glen moved aside for the girl to walk in and closed the door behind her.

"I'm Glen," the blond boy introduced himself to the visitor. Now that he knew this girl was friends with his sister and not some random stranger, he decided her shouldn't flirt with her. It could get back to Madison. The two weren't officially dating or anything, but he hoped they would be soon, and even though he wouldn't have done anything with Kyla, he was still a flirt by nature and enjoyed it. Surprisingly enough, when he wasn't trying to show off, he was very good at it.

"Kyla," the visitor responded.

Spencer told Kyla she could go into the living room and made to follow her when Glen stopped her. "Hey, Spence, do you have Aiden's cell number?"

"Yeah." Spencer took her phone out of the pocket of her jeans and looked up the boy's number, reiterating it to her brother who punched it into his own phone. "Is that what you need when you walked in on me her earlier?" Spencer said with a glare.

"Yeah," Glen said, looking guilty. "I would have asked earlier, but I didn't think I could look at you again for a few hours."

"Well, if the roles had been reversed, I probably would agree with you there. But guess what? That would never happen because I knock!"

"Yeah, I will definitely do that from now on."

"You better." Then Spencer left the foyer of the house to join Kyla and Glen left to call Aiden.

About half an hour later, Aiden pulled up to the Carlin house.

"Hey, man," Aiden greeted Glen after the door was answered by the blond boy.

"Hey," Glen said. "So, let's go." He was about to walk out of the front door towards his friend's car, when Aiden stopped him.

"Actually, do you mind if I say 'hi' to Spencer? Is she home?"

Glen shook his head and sighed. "She in her room with a friend. C'mon."

Glen led Aiden up the steps to his sister's room and was about to just open the door before he paused for a moment and then knocked.

"Come in," Spencer called out from the other side of the door.

"Come _in_ or com_ing_?" Glen wanted clarification.

"Come _in_." Spencer was glad that her brother had learned his lesson on knocking, finally; she just wished it hadn't been at her expense.

Glen opened the door and the two boys were greeted with the sight of Spencer sitting in her chair that was in front of her desk with her feet propped up on her bed and Kyla sitting Indian style in the middle of the bed.

"Hey, Spence," Aiden said with a smile from the doorway while Glen leaned against the wall next to the door.

"Hey, Aiden. What's up?" Spencer asked.

"We were going to play basketball, but he just had to say 'hi' to you," Glen answered. The other three people present simply ignored him

"Hey, Kyla," Aiden greeted the other girl. He didn't actually know Kyla very well. Actually, the only reason he knew her at all was because of Ashley. She was a bit of a bookworm and kept to herself. He and Carmen usually tried to include her when they and Ashley went out, but she typically refused. He was glad to see she seemed to have a friend in Spencer.

"Hey, Aiden," Kyla said before going back to reading the textbook in her lap again.

"Come on, man. Let's go," Glen said, pushing himself off of the wall and out of his sister's room.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you guys later." Aiden and Spencer had a mini staring contest complete will big goofy smiles on their faces before Glen managed to push the other boy out the door and close it behind him.

After the girls could hear that they had walked out of ear range, Kyla spoke.

"I see you and Aiden are all googly-eyed for each other," the brunette said.

"Uh, yeah." Spencer saw no need in denying it. She did however frown, remembering what she had been thinking before when kissing him. It all felt so out of her control. She couldn't help how she was when he was around, and she hated that. It all felt like too much all at once.

"So, why the frowning?" Kyla asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Bullshit. It was definitely something, but nothing she felt like divulging at the moment.

Kyla felt as though Spencer knew exactly what was wrong, but just didn't want to tell her, and she could respect that. The subject was dropped and the two continued with their studies.

**XXX**

Spencer and Kyla had been studying for a while when the blonde girl's cell phone rang. She looked at her phone and saw that it was Ashley.

"Hey," she answered the phone.

"_Yo! What's up?" _Ashley asked.

"Kyla and I are doing our homework."

"_Psh. Homework? Why? You've got the rest of the weekend to do that shit." _

"It's Sunday afternoon. This is the rest of the weekend."

"_Well, then. You've got Monday morning to do that shit." _

Spencer laughed. "I'd prefer to get it done before then."

"_Oh, right. You're a good student. I forgot."_

"Yes. Yes I am."

"_Alright then. Get back to your homework." _Ashley said the word 'homework' as if it was painful coming out of her mouth.

"I shall. And you should do your homework, too." Kyla let out a snort of laughter at that, knowing the blonde was talking to her stepsister.

"_Oh, totally. Yeah, I'm on it." _Biggest. Lie. Ever. Both of them knew it, though.

"Uh huh." Spencer smiled into the phone. Ashley definitely lacked work ethic. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Spencer hung up the phone smiling.

"How has she not flunked out of school?" Spencer asked Kyla. "I mean, I can see why it works with Carmen. She's a fuckin'genius. She does her work ten minutes before class, but she still does it and manages straight A's."

"Ashley's not as dumb as she makes herself out to be," Kyla responded. "She does just enough to get by, skating on C's. She does work, well, most of the time; it's just the bare minimum."

"Doesn't she want to go to college?" Spencer inquired.

"Please. This is Ashley Davies we're talking about."

"Right, right. Of course. Inheritance. But what about you? I mean, you don't need to go to college any more than she does." The Ohio native tilted her head to the side with her question.

"I don't _need_ to go. I _want _to go. I don't wanna skate by. I wanna have a career."

"What do you wanna be?"

Kyla's eyes looked upwards as she thought. "Well, when I was eight, I wanted to be a marine biologist. When I was thirteen, I wanted to be an accountant. I don't know why. Last year I thought I could be an actress, but apparently I have terrible stage fright, so that's out. Now? I have no idea. I just know I wanna go to college. I wanna be something. Anything. I wanna matter to the world. Make a difference in some way. Not just be the stepdaughter of a rock legend. I wanna make my own name in the world. Kyla Woods being Kyla Woods. A name associated with the independence and importance that she earned herself. I wanna be my own person. Plain and simple."

"That was… inspiring." Spencer was enthralled with the girl's passion. "Are you sure you can't act, because that would make a great monologue for an audition."

Kyla laughed. "Well, if I ever get the courage to walk onto a stage again, I will try it out."

Spencer nodded, satisfied with the answer she received, and the two went back to their work.

**Note: **Please review! But it's not the most important thing (as FullFathomF5ve made me realize). The most important thing is that I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	5. The Day I Left The Womb

**Note:** If I ignore FullFathomF5ve's whole thing about reviews, will I get more of them? Ha-ha. Just kidding (but not really). 7 ain't so bad. Plus, I think (at least I hope) after this chapter I will start getting more of them. There's not any Spashley in this chapter, but it's the beginning of getting there. You'll see.

prissy020304: I like sweet Aiden, too. I actually think in the show he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be. He was just in love. But that's just my opinion. Anyway, thanks for the review.

Ryoko05: I typically only make a chapter as long as I think it needs to be to get all my points of the chapters across, and then a little more. If a chapter is ever particularly long or short, that's only because that's where I think it should be stopped. But I'll see what I can do.  Thanks for reviewing.

sparklyleathers08: I have a feeling you'll love this story once the Spashleyness starts up. Am I right? If not, I'm working on it. I appreciate the reviews.

Stokley27: I'll say right now, that it is love. But it's the wrong kind of love. Does that make sense? And I'm glad when people like how I write Aiden. He's just a big sweetie.  Soon you'll start to see how Spencer's feelings transform and grow. I always appreciate your input!

McrFreak1991: With the Glen walking in on Spencer, let me just tell you that in this story, a lot of the little things that I put in that don't seem important, are actually used to help with the story later on. Him walking in on Spencer may not seem like it has too much to do with the story, but it will make an impact later on. Thanks for reviewing and 3 MCR!

lalalalee: Ha-ha. Very observant. Ashley's friendliness will come to light in this chapter. Well, sort of. Thanks for the review.

FullFathomF5ve: Insightful and spot on as usual. Don't worry. I have no intention of disappointing anyone with a lack of Spashley. As for your impatience, with the way I have the story planned right now, meaning it is susceptible to change, you will soon, but not too soon, be pleased, but then have to wait a bit again for the Spashley. You'll see. Thanks for reviewing.

Here's the next chapter.

**CHAPTER FIVE: **_**The Day I Left The Womb**_

"Hey, are you going to French today?" Spencer asked Carmen when they saw each other at school before class started on Monday.

"I don't know. Maybe," the brunette responded.

"No, please, you have to." Spencer's voice took on a begging quality. "I can't handle that class alone."

"Then skip." Carmen thought it was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.

"I don't skip class. I told you."

"You skipped two classes after lunch last week," Carmen pointed out.

"Yeah, but, I didn't _mean_ to." Spencer exaggerated the word 'mean' as if it would make her friend understand it better. "It was an accident."

"How could that possibly have been an accident?"

"I just got caught up talking with Ashley and there are no bells here, so there was nothing to snap me back to reality."

"That's that Davies charm," Ashley said as she strode up to her friends, catching the last sentence of their conversation after having gone to the restroom.

Carmen smirked at her friend's overloaded ego and then turned back to Spencer. "So get lost in the charm again and 'forget,' and then neither of us have to go." Carmen made sure to use her fingers to make quotations around her head as she said the word 'forget.'

Spencer stuck out her bottom lip in a small pout and widened her eyes. "Please?"

Carmen just gave Spencer a funny look that told the blonde she was unaffected by the pout and Ashley thought it was cutest thing in the world as was ready to convince her friend to do whatever the blonde wanted.

Mid pout, Aiden walked up behind Ashley and Carmen and caught site of Spencer's jutted lower lip.

"What's with the pout, Spencer?" Aiden asked with a little bit of amusement in his eyes.

Spencer never took her large doe-like eyes off of Carmen as she spoke. "Carmen is gonna skip French and leave me to fend for myself against Lafayette."

The tall boy walked over to Spencer and put his arm around her to show his support and then spoke to Carmen. "Now that's just cruel."

Carmen turned to Ashley for support, but Ashley just moved to the other side of Spencer and put her arm around her as well. "It really is, Carmen."

Carmen faced the three of her friends with defiance in her eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh and saying, "I'll see you in French, Spence," before walking out of the building. If she had to go to French, there was no way she was going to her first two classes.

The three remaining friends let out a small cheer of victory and Spencer's pout turned into a smile.

"That pout work's wonders," Aiden said to Spencer.

"What, so we don't get credit?" Ashley said as a question.

"Of course you do," the blonde said to the girl. "Thank you."

Ashley smiled in triumph before saying goodbye to her friends and walking into the Elliot Center.

"What about me?" Aiden asked. "Do I get credit?"

Spencer pretended to think about it for a minute and then said, "No."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so," Spencer said with a smirk.

"Oh is that so?"

Aiden had yet to move his arm from around Spencer's shoulders and he began to lead her out to the quad to a secluded area. They still had a good 10 minutes before class started.

"That is so." Spencer allowed herself to be lead to wherever Aiden was taking her.

When they had reached an area that had some semblance of privacy, Aiden moved so he was standing in front of Spencer and stuffed his hands in his pockets in a nervous gesture. Spencer noticed this and immediately dropped the act the two had been putting on.

"What's up?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"It's just…" Aiden looked around a bit at his surrounding before turning his eyes onto Spencer. "I never got the chance to ask you this weekend and I was just wondering…. will you go out with me?"

"Out with you, like…"

"Like…be my girlfriend." Aiden flashed a nervous smile.

Spencer couldn't help but hug the boy; he looked so anxious. As she hugged him she rested her chin on his chest and looked up to his face where he was looking down at her. "Yes."

Aiden visibly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Spencer before leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips.

Once again, Spencer heard that nagging voice that had been hanging around for a while in the back of her head that told her this is exactly what she was supposed to do. She was walking right into it. This trap that was supposed to be her life. She shushed the voiced in her head and went to give her boyfriend another kiss, trying to quell her fears with the action. Little did she know that Aiden was hearing similar voices of his subconscious in his head about how he and Spencer were meant to be, but rather than fearing them, he embraced them.

**XXX**

"Hey, Ashley."

The brunette barely smiled at the school nurse whose office she had spent countless hours in confessing all the problems and feelings she had that she didn't think she could tell anyone else. Even Carmen.

"Uh oh," the nurse said, and patted the small cot-like mattress that was in the office, indicating that Ashley should sit there. The girl followed through and the nurse got up from her desk for a moment to close the door until it was only barely cracked open, giving them some kind of privacy, but letting people know she was still there if she was needed. She sat back down and faced the cot, crossing her legs. "Okay, now. Tell me what's wrong."

Julie Hunter, commonly known as 'Nurse Julie,' was one of the few people over the age of 35 whom Ashley felt genuinely cared about her. She even called her 'Mom' on a few occasions when she was feeling particularly vulnerable. She was a well-liked woman in her mid 40's with a son who was a few grades below Ashley. She had shoulder length dirty blonde hair, a kind face, and a lower back tattoo that she got in her younger years, which she had yet to regret.

"I like someone I should _not _like," Ashley told the woman whom she had spent more time with over the past two years than she had ever spent with her real mother in her entire life.

"Why can't you like them?" Nurse Julie knew of Ashley's sexual preferences and always made sure in these situations to never specify one gender. When Ashley didn't respond right away, the nurse continued to ask questions. "Is this person a friend?" Ashley nodded. "A close friend?" Another nod. "Is it Carmen or Aiden?" She knew the three were best friends so if Ashley liked one of them it could complicate things.

Ashley's eyes widened in horrified disbelief. "No!"

The nurse held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I just had to know." She lowered her hands again. "Who is it, Sweetie?"

"Remember the other girl who I told you about who has been hanging out with us?"

"The one who likes Aiden?"

Ashley nodded.

"Spencer, right?"

"Yeah."

"Does Aiden like her as well?"

"He's crazy about her. They went on a date last Saturday and this morning they became official."

"So he didn't blow it, then?" Nurse Julie said with a smirk. She knew all about his little bad habits when it comes to dating.

"Apparently it went great. I talked to her on the phone afterwards and I think I came on too strong in trying to pretend that I was really happy for them, but Carmen was doing the same thing, so I don't think she picked up on anything."

"I would ask if Carmen has a crush on her, too, but that's just Carmen."

That got Ashley to smile.

"When did you realize you liked her," the nurse asked.

"Last week. The four of us were having lunch and after Aiden and Carmen left, we stayed and ended up talking for, like, two hours, missing our classes after lunch. But we didn't even notice. She's interesting and smart and funny. She's the kind of girl you fall in love with."

"Ashley, you haven't known her long enough to be in love with her."

"I'm not in love with her. She's just the kind of person that people can easily fall in love with."

"So you have a crush on a taken girl, eh?"

Once again, all Ashley could do was nod.

"Well, this is definitely a first." What Nurse Julie meant when she said that isn't that it was the first time Ashley had a crush on someone who was taken. She meant it was the first time that Ashley has ever had a crush. On anyone. Ever.

Ashley slept with people. She didn't develop feelings for them. She certainly didn't develop feelings for people she hadn't slept with. She's never been in a relationship and up until now, she never saw the point. Turns out, she never saw the point because she never met someone worth having a relationship with.

"What do I do?" Ashley looked at Nurse Julie as if the woman had all the answers in the world. In a way, she did.

"Just be her friend. It's all you can do."

**XXX**

After Ashley left the nurses office, she went back to her locker to grab her lunch before joining her friends for the remainder of the lunch period. She walked out into the quad and scanned the grounds before seeing them occupying the space underneath the clock tower. She took a deep breathe before walking to them and sitting down next to Carmen, opposite Spencer and Aiden.

"Hey, Ash," Spencer said, greeting her friend. "Where've you been?"

"The nurses office," Ashley responded. She didn't see any reason to lie about where she was. She just wasn't going to say why she was there.

Spencer frowned at this. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Ashley just goes to the nurse to talk to Nurse Julie. She pretty much the coolest adult on this campus," Aiden said with a smile.

Both he and Carmen actually talked to the nurse regularly themselves, though not as often as Ashley did. It was quite common for students to use the nurse as a therapist. The school had a counselor, and he was a nice guy, but the fact that he was a counselor meant that hardly anybody would go to him willingly. It's his job to listen to your problems, so even though he probably does care, it just feels awkward. Plus, Nurse Julie was just plain awesome.

"Oh," Spencer said, not quite getting it, but deciding to let it go.

Ashley noticed Spencer's frown and frowned herself, not liking the look on the blonde, but not having the right to say anything about it.

"Don't frown, Spence. I like it better when you smile." Aiden on the other hand, had every right to say it.

Spencer smiled and kissed her boyfriends cheek.

"Okay, you two. Enough with the PDA," Carmen said.

Little did Ashley know that while she had been with the nurse, Carmen had been privy to a front row showing of Spencer and Aiden showing loads of public displays of affection. What the three girls of the group could obviously conclude is that Aiden very much liked showing his girlfriend affection. What the three brunettes of the crowd did not know was that the more Spencer kissed Aiden, the less in control she felt, and yet she continued to do it because she didn't know what else to do.

Spencer blushed at what Carmen said and went back to eating her lunch.

Ashley thought Spencer looked adorable when she blushed.

"You're cute when you blush." Apparently, so did Aiden.

It hurt to see Spencer and Aiden all couple-like together, but she could handle it. It was a simple crush that she would get over. She just didn't like it. In fact, she liked nothing about this. This whole having feelings for someone was much too difficult. She immediately decided that this weekend she was getting laid. Besides, it was the middle of February and she hadn't had sex since late January. A person with Ashley's libido couldn't take any stretch of a dry spell for too long. She never understood how Carmen did it. Ashley's best friend had only ever had sex with one person: her ex-girlfriend, Samantha. And they broke up a few months ago. Either Carmen had a very low sex drive, or she took care of herself more than Ashley ever realized. With that last thought, Ashley internally shuddered, resisting the urge to say 'ew' out loud, and put her focus back on the conversation her friends were having.

**XXX**

Ashley was lounging around in her house. It was Friday afternoon and she had just gotten out of school less than an hour ago. Earlier in the day, Ashley had convinced her friends to go out with her and they would be coming over at around eight so that they could all go out together. The plan was to go to The B/W, a local club that was a favorite for high school kids thanks to their lack of any sort of checking for ID. The crowd, however, was never the Greenhill crowd. It was those of the public schools, meaning they were never likely to run into someone from their school there, which was another plus. The biggest plus of them all, however, was the diversity of the crowd. While there were usually more straight people there then gay, there was still a pretty good balance, which is very rare. It's usually either a straight club or a gay club, but The B/W seemed to not care too much for labels.

"Hey, Ash."

Ashley thoughts were interrupted by her stepsister.

"Hey, Ky," Ashley said absentmindedly.

"You got any plans tonight?" Kyla asked her sister as she sat down on the armchair adjacent to the couch Ashley was lying on and took a sip of the Dr. Pepper she had gone into the kitchen to get.

"Uh, yeah. Me, Spencer, Carmen, and Aiden are going to The B/W."

"Cool."

Ashley was brought out of her thoughts by the somber tone of one of the few real family members she had that actually cared about her. "You okay?"

The question caught Kyla off guard. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She certainly didn't sound fine.

"Okay, Ky," Ashley said as she sat up on the couch. "Spill."

"There's nothing to spill," Kyla defended, taking an extra long gulp of her drink.

Ashley didn't say anything but gave her a look that said 'You're an awful liar and you better start talking.'

"Seriously!" Kyla made one last attempt to quell her sister's curiosity.

"You better start talking right now, Sis." Ashley only ever called Kyla 'Sis' when she was being affectionate, which was rare, or when she was being stern. This time it was definitely not the former reason.

Kyla sighed, signaling her surrender. "It's just…I envy you sometimes," she admitted.

"Psh! Sometimes! Shouldn't it be all the time?" Ashley said in her usual inflated ego fashion. She then noticed that Kyla was being serious quieted down. "Why do you envy me?"

"You don't care. I mean, I wish I had the ability to not care so much about school and all the important things in life and be able to focus on the living part of it."

"Are you kidding?!" Ashley couldn't believe this was what was causing her stepsister distress. "Kyla, you have work ethic. That's not a bad thing."

"I also don't have a real life." Kyla looked down, a little embarrassed at her admissions, but knowing that if there was anybody she could talk to about these things, it was Ashley.

"Well, who says you can't have both?"

"The laws of social and work combination propriety." Kyla was actually pretty proud of herself for thinking up of something on the spot.

Ashley waved a hand in her sister's direction signifying that what she was just talking about wasn't important. "Puh-lease. No one takes _those_ laws seriously." Then, a brilliant idea came to Ashley. "You should come with us tonight!"

"What?"

"You should come out with me, Spencer, Carmen, and Aiden!"

"I don't think-."

Kyla was cut off before she could finish her sentence of protest. "Nonsense. You're coming and that's final. Now come on. I have to find something for you to wear in that closet of yours."

Kyla barely managed to set her soda down on the coffee table before Ashley took her by the hand and hauled off of the armchair and dragged her up the steps.

It was only ten minutes later that Ashley realized that her siblings taste in clothes didn't exactly equal that of club attire. She tried to find something in her own closet for her to wear, but Ashley was two inches taller than her and of a different build. If she had been trying to lend Kyla a tee shirt and loose fitting jeans, this would not be a problem, but the kinds of clothes that people wore to clubs was a different matter. They all looked out of place and awkward on her because they didn't fit the way they were supposed to on Kyla. Ashley was about ready to go out on a quick shopping spree when another idea came to mind.

"Carmen!"

"What?" Kyla was wondering why Carmen was relevant in her clothes predicament.

"Carmen's the same height as you. I've seen you stand next to each other. You also have a similar body type! Oh this is perfect!" Ashley instantly whipped out her cell phone and hit her speed dial number for her best friend. "Hey Car," Ashley said into the phone. "Can you come over now and just get ready for tonight here?" Kyla could faintly hear the sound of Carmen responding on the other end. "I need you to bring as many of your clubbing outfits as you can. Kyla's coming with us and she has nothing to wear, but none of my stuff will fit her right…..Yeah, I convinced her to go out." Kyla rolled her eyes. More like forced her. "Great. See you in a few." Ashley shut her phone with a smile on her face. "She'll be here soon."

"Great." Kyla's response was half real enthusiasm and half terror.

**XXX**

It was 8:11 pm when the front doorbell of the Davies Estate rang, signaling to the people who already occupied to mansion, that Spencer and Aiden had arrived. Carmen went to let her friends in while Ashley tried to convince her stepsister that she looked great. Kyla wasn't used to wearing the kind of clothes that Carmen had and she was very uncomfortable with the idea of going out in public looking the way she currently did.

"Ashley," Kyla whined. "This outfit just isn't _me_."

"Of course it's not you. These are clubbing clothes," Ashley countered.

"Which is just proof that I shouldn't be going at all. I don't belong there."

For the entire evening, Kyla had been trying to convince her sister that she shouldn't be going out to a club. She had yet to succeed.

"Kyla," Ashley began. "You only don't belong because you _think_ you don't belong."

"What?"

"For someone who gets straight A's, you sure are dumb." Ashley ignored the less than pleased look Kyla sent her way and continued. "You spend all of your time thinking that you don't belong, but really, your making yourself not belong by thinking that. You're sabotaging yourself. If you would just let yourself be and not be so consumed with thinking that you shouldn't be there, then you'd realize that you fit in more than you think. For once, just let yourself go and allow yourself to have a good time. Don't think about anyone else. They don't matter. You're there to have fun, and they're there to have fun, and as long as that's why you're there, you belong."

"Ashley, if you would just apply that kind of knowledge and insight to your studies, you'd be doing a lot better in school," Kyla informed her.

"Nah. I'd rather use my wisdom on more fun things," Ashley said with a grin.

"Hey! I heard Kyla is finally coming out with us!" Aiden yelled as he bounded up the steps with Spencer and Carmen following closely behind him.

The tall boy stopped in his tracks when he saw Kyla.

Aiden had always known that Kyla was a good-looking girl, but she had always had a bookworm look about her. She was the intellectual type of beautiful, where it was instantly obvious that she was a smart girl.

This, however, was totally different.

Kyla was wearing a black leather mini skirt that stopped a good few inches above her mid-thigh. Her dark blue halter-top had a low neckline that gave a glimpse of the top of her breasts and showed off an inch of her midriff. The knee-high black leather boots had a three-inch heel on them and came to a dangerous point at the toe. All of this was topped off with just the right amount of black eyeliner and her hair flowing down her back in perfect waves.

"Damn, Kyla!" Spencer blurted out, very uncharacteristically, not expecting Kyla to look so different.

"Doesn't she look great?" Carmen said, proud of the outfit they had chosen for the normally less radical Kyla.

Kyla's hands were flexing again and again at her sides and her feet were facing a little inward. She was obviously incredibly nervous. "Do I really look okay?"

"You look great, Kyla," Aiden said, finally taking his eyes off of her outfit that he realized was probably not her own and looked into her eyes, giving her the reassurance she needed. He then let his eyes scan over all of the girls he would be going out with tonight, letting them linger on Spencer a bit longer than the others. "You all look great. I mean, just really….hot. Like, fucking hot."

Spencer, Ashley, and Carmen smiled at the compliment while Kyla could only blush.

"So, are you ladies ready to get out of here?" he asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement for the night.

"Yep," Ashley spoke for all of the girls. She then grabbed onto Kyla's hand and began dragging her out of the room to the steps. "Let's go."

"What was the name of this place?" Spencer asked and Aiden took a hold of her hand.

"The B/W," her boyfriend answered her. "That's short for The Black & White."

Spencer nodded and walked out to Aiden's blue 2004 Chevy Tahoe that they would all be going in.

Ashley was ranting and raving about what a good time they were all going to have as they drove to the club. Meanwhile, in her mind, she was trying to get over how amazing Spencer was looking tonight.

**Note: **So? What did ya think?!

Get it. Got it. Good.


	6. Reverse This Curse

**Note: **Sorry this took me so long. I've been having a bit of a problem with writers block. You can all thank FullFathomF5ve for this one. He/she (I don't want to make any assumptions) reminded me that there are people that actually want to read this story (something I'm still having trouble comprehending) and so I got back on it.

prissy020304: Nurse Julie is actually based on a real person. To be honest, most of the school staff that I write about in here are so I'm glad you like her because the real person is awesome as well. Maybe Spencer should see her. I'm still debating that. Thanks for the review.

.HEART: Yes, Aiden is quite the attractive male specimen. Here's that update. Thanks for reviewing.

Superfly: I'm always glad when someone appreciates the time it takes for things to happen. It always bothered me as well when it's like they are instantly on love. I use that concept in this story to show that I think real, true love takes time. And yay to Aiden lovers! Thank you for reviewing.

to be named and shamed: Thank you so much. I try to match the dialogue not just with what I want them to say, but with how it would actually be said. Most people don't use proper grammar and annunciate when they speak. And I'm really, really glad you like the flow of the story. It makes me happy when people say that. Thanks for your review.

sparklyleathers08: I knew it! Don't worry. It's coming. Then you shall love the story! I can't wait. And thank you for thinking I rock. It makes me feel like a cool person rather than the nerd that I am. Thanks for reviewing.

lalalalee: In time, my friend. In time. Thanks for the review.

sonfan92: Why thank you! Here you go. Thanks for reviewing.

FullFathomF5ve: Wise as always and completely right about everything. And thanks for the PM. It made me get off my ass I get some writing done. As for scandalous behavior. Maybe a little, but probably not the kind you want. Sorry. Thanks for your review.

Here you go.

**CHAPTER SIX: **_**Reverse This Curse**_

The B/W was just as crowded as one would expect it to be on a Friday night. A relatively new DJ was manning the music and he seemed pretty good, although most people were waiting for when the band would take the stage.

Spencer, Aiden, Carmen, and Ashley all walked into the club. It took Ashley a moment to realize that her stepsister was not behind her. Leaving her friends, she went back outside and found Kyla awkwardly standing next to the bouncer as he let people in.

"Kyla! What are you doing? Come on," Ashley said, grabbing her sister's hand to drag her into the club.

Kyla resisted. "I don't know about this, Ash."

"Well I do," Ashley said with finality. "Now come on."

Ashley pulled Kyla into the club and found their friends.

"Hey, where'd y'all go?" Aiden asked as he wrapped his arms around Spencer from behind.

Jealousy flared inside of Ashley upon seeing Spencer grip the arms around her waist for a moment before she managed to tame it and answer the boy's question. "Kyla got nervous again."

"Oh, come on, Kyla. It'll be fine. You look awesome," Aiden told her.

"Yeah," Carmen chimed in. "I mean, if I didn't know you and know that you're straight, I would totally hit on you."

Kyla wasn't sure how she should feel about that statement, so she just went with flattered. "Really?"

"Totally," Carmen assured her.

"You look amazing Kyla," Spencer said with a sweet smile.

"See? Everyone thinks you're hot," Ashley said to her sister. "Now let's get some drinks." As she watched Aiden lead Spencer to the bar she mumbled under her breath, _and someone for me to fuck._

With a bit of alcohol in her, Kyla was much more relaxed and had managed to let go of some of her nervousness. She was even dancing with a boy from Highland Park who had offered to buy her a drink. She did however make Aiden and Spencer come out onto the dance floor with her just in case. What she could possibly mean by 'just in case,' neither of them were sure, but she had been making a good amount of progress, so they decided to go with it at first while they gradually moved farther and father away from Kyla and her attractive, sandy-blond-haired dance partner who was most likely on the wrestling team of his high school.

Carmen was off flirting with a girl whom she had claimed had 'girlfriend potential' and Ashley was stuck alone at the bar, turning down offers left and right. She had come for a good lay but continued to set herself back in the quest. She had already decided after her third drink that her choice tonight would be female because she planned on being particularly drunk, a point she usually didn't like to get to but felt the need to be in order to forget about her current crush, and she didn't want to have to deal with remembering contraceptives in her inebriated state, so already a portion of the people who propositioned her were out. Then, it seemed that every time a perfectly good candidate came fourth, she would compare them to Spencer. A girl who had hit on her earlier had blue eyes, but they weren't as nice as Spencer's. One tilted her head to the side when asking her if she would like to dance, but she couldn't pull it off as well as Spencer could. Another girl seemed to have a shy demeanor, but it wasn't as cute as it was with Spencer. Finally, after a great deal of frustration, she ordered two shots of tequila, downed them in quick succession, and decided that the next girl who came her way who she found even mildly attractive, would be the one in her bed tonight.

Well, that girl did come along.

Paige was an attractive girl. Tall with large, expressive eyes and a smirk to match. Her dark brown hair fell straight down her back and her light brown eyes focused in on Ashley, continually darting to her lips. Her skirt was short. Too short. And her tight top left little if any part of her upper body to the imagination.

Ashley didn't really care about any of this. She was hot and she wanted her. Checklist complete.

**XXX**

Spencer and Aiden sat in a booth sipping their drinks in the sort of comfortable silence that usually takes a good amount of time to build up to. Aiden had his left arm around her shoulders and Spencer was leaning into his body. Out of nowhere, Ashley came up to them with another girl all over her, intoxicated, though probably not as far gone as Ashley. Spencer looked on, not exactly liking what she was seeing. She knew all about Ashley's sexcapades and was her friend regardless, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"Heeeeeey guys!" Ashley shouted much louder than was necessary. She giggled as Paige kissed her neck. "We're gonna get out of……of here." For a moment it seemed like Ashley had forgotten what she was talking about.

The couple in the booth took a look at the girl Ashley was with and knew she was in no state to drive.

"She's not driving, is she?" Aiden asked his friend, indicating to the girl who was whispering in her ear.

"No no no no no no no….. no no," Ashley mumbled over and over again. "Stupid." She shook her head at Aiden. "We're gonna catch a cab."

Aiden looked at Ashley weirdly. "Ash, this is Dallas. What cabs?"

"Fuck! There are cabs in LA!"

"Are you saying Dallas doesn't have a cab company?" Spencer asked her boyfriend.

"No, they definitely do, but I've only ever seen a cab around Dallas, like, fout times," he responded.

"But you can still call them and they'll come," Spencer reasoned.

"Do any of us have the company's number?" Aiden asked, looking around between the four of them.

Spencer began to make her way out of the booth. "This is a club. They have to have the number for a cab company."

The blonde walked up to a server who was clearing off a table. "Excuse me?" She got the server's attention easily. It seemed that two drink Spencer was much more assertive then sober Spencer while maintaining her common sense. "Do you happen to know where we can get the number for a cab company?"

"Oh yeah, sure. I'll be right back." The server disappeared for a minute to the back of the bar and came back with a card for the _Cowboy Cab Co. _and handed it to her with a surprisingly genuine smile. He was always glad when people were smart enough not to drive after they had been drinking.

"Thanks," Spencer said, before making her way back to the booth where her friends were. She then retrieved her cell phone from her purse and proceeded to call the number on the card. Just because she didn't approve of Ashley's sex habits didn't mean she was okay with the two of them trying to drive in their state or attempting to walk anywhere in Dallas at night while drunk. Dallas wasn't a walking city during the day and it certainly didn't become one at night.

Spencer shut her phone and put it back in her purse after talking to the cab company.

"They'll be here in twenty minutes," she told Ashley and her 'friend.'

Aiden stood up from the booth. "Let's wait outside with them," he told his girlfriend who agreed.

While the four of them were waiting outside for Ashley and Paige's cab, Spencer asked her boyfriend a question while the other two girls made out shamelessly.

"How does Ashley usually get home when she's…" Spencer gestured to their friend. "Like this?"

"She usually doesn't get this completely wasted or the person she's with is pretty sober or I drive her when she begs me enough," Aiden answered. "To be honest, I never would have thought of a cab."

"Well technically Ashley thought of it. She was just thinking of the wrong city," Spencer said. She looked up at the boy with a serious look on her face. "So she really does do this a lot, huh?"

"You mean Ashley and her…" Aiden gestured to Paige. "People?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, she does," he said sadly. "I used to try to get her look for a relationship rather than sex, but now I've just given up."

Spencer nodded and looked over at her friend. She wondered what it was that Ashley was looking for that she thought she could find in all those people.

**XXX**

It was around two in the morning when Spencer, Aiden, Kyla, and Carmen finally decided to leave. Well, actually, Spencer and Aiden wanted to leave and they dragged Kyla and Carmen with them, but not before they exchanged numbers with the people they had been flirting and dancing with all night.

Kyla walked away happily after giving Jeremy, her sandy-blond-haired dance partner who was in fact on the wrestling team for Highland Park High School, a quick kiss on the cheek and was glad that he seemed happy enough to take it slow. Carmen on the other hand, shared a long kiss goodbye with Hannah, the girl she had been attached at the hip with all night.

As the driver, Aiden hadn't had alcohol all night, so he was fine behind the wheel, and Spencer couldn't help but smile at her responsible boyfriend. She might feel that this relationship was out of her control, but she was glad that the guy she was meant to be with was a caring and well-grounded person.

They all drove back to the Davies Estate where Carmen planned on spending the night, but rather than just drop the two brunette girls off, Spencer and Aiden went inside of a moment.

The house was massive, but that didn't seem to make a difference because the moment the four of them walked inside they heard loud moaning coming from upstairs.

Ashley and Paige were still going at it, which was impressive considering they left at around eleven and with how drunk they were.

Kyla groaned in frustration, this not being the first time she's had to listen to her stepsister have sex. Luckily, though, she only ever had sex in the house when their parents were gone, so about once a month. Carmen gave a small laugh and nodded congratulations to her friend, even though she couldn't see it. Aiden rolled his eyes and Spencer looked uncomfortable. But she wasn't just uncomfortable. She was curious. She herself was a virgin and was shocked that people actually sounded like that when they have sex.

"Now we are definitely gonna leave," Aiden said, not wanting to listen to this a moment longer.

On the car ride back to drop Spencer off, the two were making small talk when Spencer felt the need to blurt something out.

"I'm a virgin."

Aiden did a double take in his girlfriend's direction and the car swerved a little, but luckily they were on a residential road with no traffic and no cops were around.

"Okay," was his only response. He wasn't mad. He was simply surprised. But not surprised that she had never had sex. For some reason he felt that he already knew that. He was simply surprised that she just blurted it out.

"Okay?" Spencer had already known that Aiden's response wouldn't be anything terrible, but that didn't narrow it down too much.

"I mean… that's fine. Well, of course it's fine. I just mean… I don't care."

Spencer hadn't seen Aiden that nervous since he asked her to be his girlfriend. The moment after she thought that, she realized it was an odd thing to think considering that happened only a week ago. But it felt like longer.

"Good," she responded to him.

After a moment of silence, Aiden spoke. "So… what made you wanna tell me that?"

"I don't know. I guess, maybe because we had heard Ashley going at it and I thought that you might have been thinking about it," Spencer confessed.

"I think about you, Spencer. All the time. And maybe sometimes it is in that context, but that's not all that I want from you."

"What do you want from me?"

"You."

Spencer smiled. His answer couldn't have been more perfect. Then she frowned again. It was too perfect. It was all too perfect. There's that nagging voice again.

**XXX**

Ashley woke up at 2:17 in the afternoon to an empty bed and a blistering headache. The moment she sat up, she regretted the action and immediately made herself horizontal again. Unfortunately, the quick movement did nothing to stop her nausea and she bolted out of bead, fighting against her pounding head, and threw herself into the bathroom where she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

After dry heaving for a few minutes, trying to completely rid her body of all the toxins she had consumed the night before, she flushed the toilet and rested her body back against the cold tile wall of her bathroom with a sigh and a groan.

Ashley had no idea how long she had been lying there when Kyla walked into her room and followed into the bathroom the sounds of discomfort her stepsister was making.

"You look like shit," Kyla said as she opened a cabinet under the sink and got out a bottle of aspirin and poured out two pills into her hand before filling the cup on the counter with water and offering them to the hung-over girl.

Ashley took the pills and water and down them quickly, thanking Kyla before adding a 'fuck you' as an after thought.

The brunette that was not suffering from a hangover let her stepsister be to go spend some more time considering whether or not it was too early to call Jeremy.

After a bit of a struggle, Ashley managed to hoist herself up onto her feet and get out of her bathroom and back into her bedroom where she flopped face first onto her bed with a groan. As she landed on her bed she heard a small crunching sound like paper and felt it on her left shoulder. Rolling over, she felt for the paper that was sticking to her skin with the light layer of sweat that covered her body and pulled it off to read it.

_Call me if you ever want to do a repeat of last night. 469 831 5059_

Smirking, Ashley stuffed the note with Paige's number into the drawer in her night stand with the few other notes that were in there, all saying basically the same thing, but giving a different phone number. She was getting better and better at picking people who weren't looking for anything other than sex. Six months ago, she was bedding people who would still be there when she woke up and couldn't take the hint when she ignored them. Now she was just getting notes saying that if she was looking for a good time, she should call them, which was exactly what she wanted. A good time.

Thinking about last night, Paige was definitely someone she would be giving a call should the mood strike her.

Then Ashley's thoughts went to Spencer and suddenly she didn't feel so great.

She wasn't sure why, but she felt guilty. She felt like she had cheated. Not on Spencer, but on the feelings she had for Spencer. She frowned realizing that that didn't even make sense.

Frustrated with what liking someone as more than a friend entailed and feeling disgusting covered in sweat, Ashley went back into her bathroom for a shower hoping to either wash away along with the grime of last night, her feelings of guilt or her feelings for Spencer. Either one would do.

**Note: **I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Let me know what you think.


	7. Harder Than You Know

**Note: **I know, I know. I'm sorry. You should all thank FullFathomF5ve for helping me with this chapter and with the story in general. I know it came much later than it should, but I've been having trouble, and honestly, lately I've been lacking motivation for this story.

sparkyleathers08: That was a long review. I always appreciate your reviews because they are honest. You tell me what I need to hear, which is good, but you also say it kindly, which my ego is happy for. I also took your advice for a part of this chapter, so thank you for that as well as for reviewing!

Tvat: Thank you! I too like it when things go at a slower pace as evidenced by my story. Don't worry. Spencer will get there.

TyTy: Hello new reviewer! Glad to have you on board. Now, let's get started, shall we. Spencer is in love with Aiden. She has to be, it's fate. She can't help it. This is what is causing her distress. She feels like she is loosing control of her life. The fact that Aiden is so perfect with her is a part of that. It just shows how they are meant to be. It's all too perfect for her. This part will be explained a little more later in the story. Basically, to sum it up, she wants to be with Aiden, but she doesn't want to want to be with Aiden. Does that make sense? Let me know if it doesn't and I'll try to explain it again. Thanks for reviewing!

lalalalee: If you thought that last update came late I can't imagine what this has done to you. Sorry! I'll try to make the next one sooner. I hit a roadblock, but I think getting this one out has forced me back into the swing of things. Here's you Spencer update and thanks for the review!

Inkmstr10: Why thank you! I'm glad you see the beauty of a slow build. This update certainly isn't soon, but it is here.

riahpebbles: Patience, my friend. Patience. Thanks for reviewing!

McrFreak1991: Yes, Ashley's situation is far from pleasant. I hope you're glad about this update as well. Thanks for reviewing!

**CHAPTER SEVEN: **_**Harder Than You Know **_

Ashley Davies had come to a conclusion: feelings suck.

It had been a little over five weeks since she had slept with Paige and yet the guilt still lingered. She wasn't even guilty of anything, but it was there.

She could hardly look at Spencer and felt that if she were alone with the blonde she would start confessing things, so she made sure to never be alone with her. What things she would confess, she had no idea, but the brunette was sure that she had done plenty of sinning in her time and something was bound to come out that she didn't really want Spencer to know.

It wasn't even as if Spencer didn't know what Ashley had done. She knew. Hell, she watched Ashley get in a cab with the girl as they were all over each other. She knew exactly what Ashley had done.

Spencer clearly didn't think Ashley had anything to feel guilty about. So why did Ashley feel so guilty?

Back to the conclusion. Feelings suck.

There was only one person she knew of who Ashley could talk to about all of this. Besides, she hadn't seen her in awhile and she felt bad about that.

_Great,_ Ashley thought. _More guilt. _

"Nurse Julie?"

The nurse turned in her swivel chair to face the young girl standing in the doorway of her office. She could see on Ashley's face that she looked close to tears so she beckoned her inside and told her to wait a moment while she finished patching up a second grader who had some bad luck with the monkey bars during recess. The second the child was out of the office and Nurse Julie had closed the door after putting up her 'unavailable' sign, Ashley burst into tears.

She honestly found it odd that she was crying. She hadn't felt like crying when she made her decision to visit the nurse. Nor did she feel like crying on the way over here. Yet, when she stepped into the doorway, it took every ounce of strength in her to keep the tears at bay until after the little boy had left.

Nurse Julie sat down on the unattractive green colored cot that served as a place for students to lie down next to Ashley and put her arm around her.

As if by some magical knowledge that the nurse always seemed to posses, she knew not to ask the girl she was holding what was wrong. Hell, she already knew what was wrong. She only hugged the girl tighter and kissed the top of her head a few times. But it was exactly the right thing to do.

It took awhile, but eventually, Ashley's tears began to subside. Well, they didn't so much subside as she simply ran out of tears to shed. She couldn't remember the last time she cried so hard. If she was honest with herself, she couldn't remember the last time she cried. She wasn't one to shed tears over many things, but this, whatever it was that she felt, just got to her.

"I slept with some girl, like, over a month ago," Ashley finally decided to say.

"What does Spencer think about that?" Nurse Julie asked.

"She doesn't think anything of it! She doesn't care! But I feel so bad about it and I don't know why. We're not together."

"Ashley," the nurse began. "You like this girl, a lot, from what I can tell, and those feelings seem to only be getting stronger. It's not so farfetched for you to feel bad about sleeping with someone else even if the two of you aren't together."

"I thought having sex with someone else would make my feelings for Spencer stop, but it only made things worse. It's so hard to be around her. And seeing her with Aiden…. It hurts so much." Ashley balanced her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands. "But not being around her is worse. No matter how hard it is to see her with Aiden, it couldn't stand not seeing her."

Nurse Julie began running her fingers through Ashley's curls. "Ashley, sweetie, I know this won't solve all of your problems, and I know it's you body and your decision, but I worry about you when you tell me about your sex life."

"I use protection and get tested regularly."

"That's good, but I'm not only talking about that."

Ashley took her head out of her hands and looked at the older woman.

"Then, what are you talking about?" the brunette asked.

"I just don't think that it's good for you, emotionally, to have so many partners."

"Partners? I usually only sleep with them once. I would hardly call them partners."

"But that is what they are. And the fact that you only sleep with them once, well, that makes it worse."

Ashley looked down at the tile floor of the nurse's office. "Well, sometimes I see the same person more than once."

"Honey, that's not the point. You need stability. You are a beautiful, talented, smart, young girl. You should be looking for connections with people. A relationship with someone. Not someone simply to have sex with."

"There's only one person I know who I'd like to have a real relationship with," Ashley said, knowing the nurse would know who she was talking about.

"I'm not going to speculate about a relationship you could have with Spencer, so if that's the case, then you don't need to be with anyone. Ashley, you're sixteen years old. You've got plenty of time. Maybe, for a while, you should just give your sex life a break."

"Celibacy?"

"Exactly."

"I could try that," Ashley said, nodding to herself. Then she turned back to Nurse Julie. "But what do I do about this thing with Spencer?"

"I don't think there's anything you can do, Honey. She's with Aiden and she's happy. Maybe your feeling will fade with time."

"Or maybe they'll just keep getting stronger."

"They might. The most you can do is just be her friend. A really good friend."

Ashley nodded. She could do that.

**XXX**

Spencer couldn't help but notice that something had changed with Ashley after she had gotten back from visiting the nurse that day. Before, she had been a little distant, only speaking when spoken to and offering up very little, and if the others had noticed, which they undoubtedly had, they too weren't saying anything about it, but it seemed that whatever she talked about with the nurse had done something, because she was talking and laughing like nothing was wrong. Although she couldn't help but feel like Ashley was trying very, very hard to do so, but Spencer would take what she could get. She liked the brunette girl and wanted to be friends with her. Still, she was upset when it seemed that Ashley continued to avoid being alone with her. Whenever they were with a group of people, Ashley stayed until the last person besides Spencer would leave and then she would leave when that person left. It was like she was trying to spend as much time with the blonde as possible without ever being alone with her. This sparked a few signals in Spencer's head, but she didn't dwell on them long enough to make any conclusions.

"Hey, Spence," Aiden said to his girlfriend as he approached her in the quad where she sat with Kyla. "Hey, Kyla. You guys wanna go to The B/W tomorrow night? I just talked to Ash and she's in if y'all are."

"Sure," Kyla responded immediately. Ever since she had been dragged there and met Jeremy, she was becoming much more open to social events. "I could call Jeremy and see if he wants to meet us there."

"Are you two official yet?" Spencer asked.

"Well, we've only gone on a few dates," the young brunette responded shyly. "I don't want to move too fast."

"Spencer an I only went out on one date before we became 'official,'" Aiden said with air quotes on the word 'official.' "Are you saying we moved too fast?"

"Don't you put words in my mouth Aiden Dennison."

Aiden responded by putting up his hands in surrender, a playful smile on his face.

Spencer took this opportunity to poke his ribs, causing him to clutch his side in mock pain before smiling and putting an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek before the couple made eye contact and shared one of their secret smiles. The Hallmark moment was short lived, however, when Ashley and Carmen jumped up onto the rock the three others were sitting on and startled them.

"Jesus Christ!" Spencer yelled.

Ashley gasped overdramatically. "Why Spencer," she said in a faux southern accent. "Did you just take the Lords name in vein?"

Spencer smiled. She liked this Ashley much better than the quiet and distant one that had been around only a few days ago.

"I hear we're going to The B/W. Anyone mind if I invite the girlfriend along? And keep in mind that I'm inviting her anyway," Carmen said as she stole a fruit snack from the pack that Aiden had been eating.

"Hey! That's the last one!" Aiden exclaimed.

Carmen held the small, grape-flavored gummy Scooby Doo snack in her hand before quickly shoving it in her mouth. "Too late," she said to Aiden as she chewed.

"Fine. You ate the last one, you have to throw the bag away." Aiden held out the foil pouch to Carmen who snatched it out of his hand after glaring at him for a moment.

"Whatever. I haven't been to English in like, a week, so I should go now anyway." Carmen then headed towards the school building.

"I should get going, too," Kyla said as she stood up and flung her bag over her shoulder before saying her goodbyes and heading off to class.

Spencer had a free period next and she knew for a fact that Ashley had no desire to go to geometry, but she would anyway, because Aiden was about to leave for class as well.

"I'll see you girls later," the tall boy said before sharing a kiss with Spencer and then heading off to class.

In a moment, Spencer made a split second decision.

"I'll see you later-," Ashley began before the blonde interrupted her.

"Don't go to class," Spencer said.

"What?"

"I know normally I would be the one encouraging you to go to class, but I know that you really don't want to go and I kind of wanna talk to you about something."

Ashley hesitated, looking between the building and Spencer before swallowing the lump in her throat and lowering herself to sit back down.

"Wait." Spencer stopped the brunette's movement. "Not here. Let's go somewhere more private."

Ashley simply nodded, unable to speak, and followed Spencer's lead.

The two ended up on top of the large concrete steps that sat on the south side of the gym building. Ashley looked around. It was definitely private.

She swallowed another lump in her throat and faced Spencer.

"Wh-what did you want to talk about?" The brunette internally cursed herself for stuttering.

Spencer took a big breathe and then began. "For a while, after that night we went to the club, up until a few days ago, you were being really distant."

"I didn't-." Ashley tried to speak, but Spencer shut her up by just holding up a hand.

"Please, just let me finish." Ashley nodded and Spencer continued. "You were being distant and I wasn't sure why, but I really didn't like it. Then, a few days ago…I don't know what you and Nurse Julie talked about or what happened, but whatever it was, you were like a different person. You were much more like the person you were when I first met you and I like that person. Except… for some reason, you can't stand to be alone with me and I don't know why." Ashley began to open her mouth, but Spencer spoke before she could get anything out. "And don't even say that it's not true because I know it is." Ashley's mouth immediately closed. "What I want to know is why. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Spencer, not at all," Ashley said instantly, not liking the idea of Spencer thinking she did anything wrong.

"Then what is it?"

Ashley was starting to feel that urge. The one where she wanted to confess to Spencer everything she had ever done and everything she was feeling, including how she felt about her. She knew if she opened her mouth it would all come rushing out, so she kept her mouth tightly closed.

"Really? You have nothing to say?"

Wrong. Ashley had everything to say. She just wasn't ready or willing to say it.

Spencer sighed and stood up. "Fine. I'm sorry I wasted you time."

Ashley wanted to speak as Spencer descended the giant stairs, but had no idea what to say or how to say it, so she just let her walk away.

The brunette spent the rest of the period sitting on the steps, thinking about the blonde that had left her sitting there and what things might be like if she didn't unknowingly scream 'straight with no chance of bending' and if Aiden, one of her best friends in the world, didn't exist.

**XXX**

Spencer was stuck. She needed to talk to Ashley, and she did, but if Ashley wouldn't talk to her then there wasn't much that it accomplished. The next best thing would be to talk to someone who knew Ashley really well. The problem was, she didn't think she could really talk to any of their mutual friends about it. She needed a completely knew perspective. Because of this, she found herself walking to the nurse's office. She figured if countless other students went to her for advice and personal matters, she must be able to offer some sort of help, and since Ashley went to her so much, she must know plenty about the brunette.

Spencer walked into the nurse's office and found Nurse Julie sitting at a desk filling out some sort of paper work.

"Uh, hello?" Spencer said.

Nurse Julie turned around and smiled at the blonde girl.

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

"Uh." Spencer wasn't sure what to say. She didn't even know this woman and yet she was coming to her for a very personal matter.

"Is there something wrong, Honey?" Nurse Julie asked looking at Spencer with a look of concern etched on her face.

"Yes."

The nurse seemed to understand that there was probably nothing wrong health-wise with the girl or else she most likely wouldn't seem this uncomfortable. She must want to talk about something and heard that other students went to the nurse to talk through their problems.

Nurse Julie patted the chair in front of her. "Sit down."

Spencer silently obeyed.

"Can you tell me your name?" the nurse inquired.

"Spencer."

The name was instantly recognizable thanks to Ashley and the nurse immediately knew because of the description the other girl had given her that this was the very Spencer who had unknowingly caused Ashley so much distress. She tried her best not to let the recognition show on her face. She made a promise to everyone she talked to that everything said between them would be private and she had no intention of ever breaking that promise.

"What can I do for you Spencer?"

"I just know that a lot of students come to you to talk about things and I needed the perspective of someone different who knows her really well and she's always coming to you for things so I thought that maybe you might be able to help me, too." The words came rushing out of the blonde's mouth, but luckily Nurse Julie was able to follow them.

Even though the nurse already knew whom Spencer was talking about, she had to ask. "Who's 'she?'"

"Ashley Davies."

"Ah."

"So you know her pretty well?" Spencer asked.

"Very well."

A silence took over the office when Spencer wasn't sure of what to say next.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me about Ashley?" the nurse asked.

"Well, yes. But I'm not really sure how, or what to ask," Spencer told the woman truthfully.

"But something's not right between you two?"

"Yeah. For a while she was acting really distant. Hardly talked, much less to me. Then, a few days ago, after she talked to you actually, everything was fine again. Well, almost. She still avoids being alone with me. The moment everyone else leaves, she's gone, too. I tried talking to her about it, dragging her somewhere so we could speak alone, but she didn't say anything. Wouldn't talk to me at all. She said it was nothing that I did wrong, but what else could it be."

This was difficult for the nurse. She knew exactly why Ashley wouldn't allow herself to be alone with Spencer because the brunette had told her that is was difficult and that she felt like she might just blurt out everything if she was. But she couldn't tell Spencer that. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but she had to give the girl something.

"Maybe it's not you. Maybe it's Ashley."

"What?"

"If Ashley said you didn't do anything wrong, then you didn't do anything wrong. It could be her. Something that's wrong with her."

"But what could it be that would make her unable to be alone with me?"

"I can't tell you that."

Something about the way Nurse Julie said this made Spencer think that she knew more than she was letting on.

"But you know?"

The nurse looked away for a moment telling Spencer what she needed to know.

"She's talked to you about this, hasn't she?"

The nurse couldn't lie. "Yes. But I make a promise to the people I talk to that it will all be confidential."

"But you do know what's wrong, right? Why she won't talk to me? Why she avoids being alone with me?"

"I do and it isn't you. There's nothing you need to figure out. It's something Ashley has to work through."

Spencer nodded. "I just wish she would tell me."

Nurse Julie smiled at the girl in sympathy. "Maybe one day she will."

**Note: **Hopefully the next chapter will be out much faster than this one. I know I say sorry a lot, but I mean it! Sorry! You know what motivates me, though? Reviews!

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	8. 10 Miles Wide

**Note: **I wanted to get this up much sooner, but I got caught up with work. I don't think this is as overdue as the last chapter though, so there's an improvement.

Ryoko05: Yes, one-sided crushes are rather sucky. I'm glad to see people appreciate Ashley's lack handling things stupidly. 

lalalalee: I missed writing, so hopefully I'll be more consistent! Caring Spencer is the best kind. And what kind of story about teenagers and love would it been if their brains weren't churning? 

Inkmstr10: Scooby fruit snacks always were and always will be the shit. Thanks you so much for understanding. Your praise made me blush. 

anLeyda: I'm happy for you to read me again. 

FullFathomF5ve: Apology accepted tenfold. I was nervous about how people would see Ashley's behavior, so I'm glad it was appreciated and I was particularly careful with Spencer's reaction to it, so the fact that you understood the subtlety of it makes me very happy. You'll just have to wait and see about the virginity thing. Oh, and I totally needed you. You may not think that I did, but I did. I needed the reassurance and that's what you gave me. I'm so glad you're excited and I hope this one gets you just as into it. 

sparkyleather08: Your suggestion got me thinking about a whole new dynamic for Spencer which I really like, so how could I now use it? And I always want to know when people are drunk and that is not a joke nor is it sarcasm. It's okay if you're getting impatient because honestly, I am, too, so it will really start picking up. And it's not the length of the reviews, it's their content, and yours are always great. 

gummybearcheif16: New reviewer!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for giving this story a chance. I'm glad you like it. All your questions and curiosities will be answered in time, my friend. By the way, awesome pen-name. 

**CHAPTER EIGHT: **_**10 Miles Wide**_

Clowns. Snakes. Spencer. All of those things and a few more made Ashley nervous. Clubbing? The prospect of the activity had never left the brunette shaking in her boots.

Until now.

She had agreed to go to The B/W when Aiden had asked her because it was instinct. It wasn't until a moment ago that she realized it would not be like any other outing.

Previously, her trips to the club, while fun, were really nothing more than the means to an end, the end being sex. That however, was now out of the picture since she and Nurse Julie had last spoken and decided that Ashley would try celibacy out for some time. Looking back, she wished she had gotten an exact time frame.

Sure there were plenty of advantages to not having sex. She didn't have to deal with people she didn't actually like except for in bed. She didn't have to worry about the person getting clingy. No chance of an STD or pregnancy. She wouldn't feel any guilt because of her feelings for Spencer.

Then there was the downside to not having sex: no sex.

While Ashley's mind considered all the upsides very much worth it, her libido screamed in protest. Plus, what was the point of going to a club if it isn't to get laid? What was she going to do there? This worried her. Thus, the nervousness.

But she couldn't back out now. She had promised everyone she would be there. Normally that wouldn't bother her too much, but Spencer was among the people expecting her, so she would go and figure it out along the way.

"Hey, Ash," Carmen said as she approached her friend in the student lounge. "Kyla and I were talking before and since she still doesn't have any good clubbing clothes of her own, you can drop both of us off at my house and we'll get ready there and then I'll drive the both of us to your house and we can all go together. Or wait, we should just meet you their so you can have your car for when you get with someone."

"No, no. We'll all go together," Ashley said.

"But last time you had to get a cab. Why don't we just have separate cars?" Carmen asked.

Ashley looked around and saw that the student lounge was nearly deserted except for a few other students sitting on the opposite side of the room, so she motioned for Carmen to take a seat close to her.

"I don't plan on getting laid tonight." At her friend's confused look, she continued. "I'm celibate."

Carmen's eyes widened for a bit before she burst out laughing. She continued laughing until she looked at Ashley again and noted her serious face, which shut her right up.

"You're serious?"

Ashley nodded.

"It's not that I think it's a bad thing, but… why?"

"It's complicated." Ashley had considered telling her best friend what was going on with her, and while she would eventually, it wasn't going to be now. "This is just something I need to do."

Carmen looked at Ashley and knew that now was not the right time to ask questions, so she just went with it.

"Okay, then. So, Kyla and I will be getting ready at my place, Aiden at his, and Spencer and you at yours, right?"

"Right."

"Good. Well, I'm gonna ditch last period but I'll meet y'all at your car after school. Later."

Ashley said 'goodbye' to Carmen and remained sitting for a moment before what her friend had just said really sunk in.

Earlier in the day they had all decided to just drive by their houses and pick up their clothes before going back to the Davies Estate to get ready together. Now Kyla and Carmen were going to be getting ready at Carmen's. That means that Spencer, and only Spencer would be getting ready at her house. It would be just the two of them. Alone.

"Fuck," Ashley muttered at her realization as she let her head drop down onto the table in front of her.

**XXX**

Spencer and Ashley didn't talk as the brunette drove to the blonde's house so she could pick up her things, and no dialogue was picked up on their way to the Davies Estate either. The only sound that filled the car was Ashley's Led Zeppelin IV album, but as loud as it was blasting, it seemed distant compared to the non-conversation that was happening in the car.

As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Spencer shot out of the car, Ashley having not even turned off the engine yet, and walked in the mansion, only changing the emotion of her face to smile to a maid that she passed on her way to an upstairs bathroom to change her clothes and get ready for the club.

Ashley watched as Spencer hurried into her house, her face a mixture of regret and longing. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the headrest of her car seat. She took a few moments to collect her emotions before getting out of the car herself and making her way inside.

Upstairs, Ashley passed by the guest bathroom and knew that Spencer was in there. She knew Spencer was upset with her, and honestly, if the blonde was talking to her, she had no idea what she would say, but she felt like the silent treatment was a bit petty. With this thought in mind, Ashley decided to wait right there for Spencer to come out so she could confront her. She wasn't even really sure what she would be confronting her with and she was positive she would hardly be able to get any words out. Part of her knew this was because Spencer had a valid reason to be upset, but this was just too much.

On the other side of the bathroom, Spencer, still in her school clothes, sat down on the closed toilet seat and sighed. She knew her behavior was uncalled for, but even after talking with Nurse Julie, it still hurt that Ashley couldn't tell her what was wrong.

She heard movement outside of the door and it sounded like someone was waiting out there. Figuring it was Ashley, part of her wanted to sit in the bathroom for as long as it took for the brunette to leave, another part of her wanted to go out there and demand an explanation for her behavior, and another part of her just wanted to comfort the girl. Since the first choice seemed particularly unreasonable considering it was Ashley's house, she decided that a mixture of the last two would be her best option.

Slowly opening the door to the bathroom, Spencer peered outside and saw Ashley look up at the sound, their eyes meeting momentarily. The blonde stepped into the hallway and stood awkwardly with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes darting every which way in order to avoid looking at the girl in front of her. If she had, she would have seen Ashley doing the exact same thing.

"So…" Ashley spoke first.

"Yeah." Spencer second.

Then they were both talking at the same time.

Followed by an awkward laugh.

"You go first," Spencer said.

Ashley was going to protest, but then thought that was a little pointless, so she just spoke.

"I'm sorry I can't tell you what's wrong." Ashley waited for a moment to hear what Spencer had planned on saying, but she didn't speak. "What were you going to say?"

With a humorless smile on her face, Spencer said, "I was going to ask _why_ you can't tell me what's wrong."

"Oh."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"Are you going to tell me why?"

"I can't."

"I'm not asking you to tell me what's wrong. I'm asking you to tell me why you can't tell me," Spencer reasoned.

"I can't tell you that without telling you what's wrong, thus defeating the purpose."

"_Thus defeating the purpose?_ Really? That's how you're gonna talk now?" Any other day and that phrase wouldn't have bothered Spencer at all. She may have even found it amusing. But when in the middle of an argument, little, meaningless things ticked her off.

"What the fuck does that mean?!" Ashley yelled.

"Nothing!"

"No! Say what you need to say," Ashley demanded.

"How 'bout you say what you need to say!" Spencer screamed back.

"Why won't you let it go?!"

"Because it hurts!"

Ashley's mouth immediately shut in the yell she had planned on giving in response before it opened and a quieter voice came out. "What?"

"It hurts that you won't tell me what's wrong. It hurts that you avoid being alone with me. It hurts that you don't seem to trust me," the blonde confessed.

Ashley was left momentarily stunned. It had never even crossed her mind that Spencer might be offended by her actions and decisions. That she might be hurt by them.

"I know we haven't known each other that long, but I consider you one of my closest friends, and I guess I'm just upset that you don't think the same of me,' Spencer spoke quietly.

Ashley couldn't help but think of the irony. Spencer thought Ashley didn't care as much as her, when the only reason they were having this issue in the first place is because she cared too much.

"That's not true, Spencer," Ashley said quietly after a few moments had passed. "I-." The brunette bit her tongue. She wanted to say, _I care about you more than you know_, but she felt like that would cross the friendship line that she had so carefully drawn for herself.

"What? You what?" Spencer asked.

"You know it's not like you're the only person I haven't talked to about this. I haven't told Carmen," Ashley pointed out.

"But you're going to, aren't you?"

"Eventually," Ashley said, a little ashamed of her answer.

"And do you think you'll ever tell me?"

Ashley looked down at the carpet of the hallway.

"That's what I thought," Spencer said bitterly.

"You don't understand! It's different with you!"

"Why? If we're all such good friends, then why is it different with me?!"

"Because it's about you!"

Spencer's eyes went wide and Ashley muttered, "oh fuck," to herself.

"Wh-what do you mean it's about me?" the blonde asked.

"Spencer, don't," Ashley warned.

"Ashley, this has gone too far, okay. You need to tell me what's wrong!"

The brunette spoke very softly, "No."

Spencer looked at Ashley like she had just slapped her in the face. "Then we can't be friends," the Ohio native said quietly.

Ashley's eyes widened at the girl standing across from her. "What?"

Spencer simply shook her head and started down the hall. She could call Clay to come pick her up, or maybe she would walk. Her house was pretty far, but the alone time would be helpful.

As she reached the stairs she felt a hand on her arm turning her around.

"Ashley, if you're not gonna-."

And then she felt lips on her own.

**XXX**

Spencer and Ashley had been sitting in the brunette's room in silence for close to five minutes. Now, five minutes doesn't sound very long, but after telling one of your best friends that you have more than friendly feelings towards her, all of which you were forced to say because you kissed her, five minutes is damn long.

After Ashley had kissed Spencer and a moment of excruciating awkwardness had passed, Ashley silently walked into her room where she began to pace. Spencer followed and demanded to know what the fuck was going on, even though it was now becoming abundantly clear. Knowing this, Ashley explained her feelings to Spencer, to which the blonde replied, "Oh," and then the silence came.

Finally, when Ashley decided she could take the silence no more, she spoke. "You can't tell Aiden about this." It wasn't exactly something the brunette wanted to bring up at the moment, but she felt it was necessary.

Upon hearing her boyfriend's name, Spencer's head shot up from its view of the carpet. "Of course not. I know that."

Ashley had been hoping to hear something a little less harsh, like, "It's okay. I know," or "I understand." A very small but incredibly optimistic part of her had been rooting for, "Well, I'll have to break it to him soon so that we can be together and have lots and lots of sex," but she didn't think that was very realistic.

All Ashley could say in response was, "Right."

"Ashley," Spencer began, choosing her words carefully. "I wanna be your friend. A really good friend, but that's all. I'm with Aiden and I feel like he and I are-."

"Meant to be," Ashley finished for her. "Yeah, he told me about it. And I know that it wouldn't matter anyway. I mean, you're straight and everything, so really I don't have a shot in hell."

Spencer smiled like she had a secret. "I may be straight, but I'm not unbendable."

"Really?" Ashley was nothing less than shocked.

"A few years ago I had a huge crush on this girl in my class. We ended up kissing once, but nothing came of it. Still, it was nice, and while I do consider myself straight, I know that sexual orientation is anything but simple, so labels don't really mean much."

Ashley smiled genuinely for a moment before it turned into a sad, ironic sort of smile. "Well, now you know why I couldn't tell you."

"Yeah. Listen I'm sorry, Ashley. Really, I am."

"I know."

"We can still be friends, though, right?" Spencer asked, her voice laced with worry.

"Of course. That was never even an issue."

"Good."

"Yeah, I'll be over you in a few days," the brunette said jokingly, knowing that was most definitely not going to happen anytime soon.

With the awkwardness passed, the two decided that this would just have to be one of those barriers that friends need to get through, and so they did what most would: they made it into a joke.

The two got ready for their night out and Carmen, Kyla, and Aiden showed up shortly after. They all went to The B/W together, and at first, Ashley was unsure of what to do with herself. Even though Spencer now knew how she felt, she was still going to give this abstinence thing a try, so her problem of what to do at a club when sex is not the goal came back into her mind.

"Ash, relax," Carmen told her best friend as she sat awkwardly at the bar avoiding eye contact with strangers. "You can talk and dance with people without being obligated to take them home."

"But then what's the point?" Ashley asked, like Carmen was explaining some weird tribal ritual.

"To have fun." With that, Carmen took Ashley's hand and dragged her to the dance floor where Kyla was dancing with Jeremy and Hannah was waiting for Carmen to return. Eventually Ashley got into it and loosened up and began to enjoy herself.

"I'll be right back," Ashley told her friends before she made her way through the crowd to the small table where Spencer and Aiden were sitting. "Are you guys ever gonna dance?"

Spencer and Aiden shared a look before shrugging their shoulders and getting up to follow Ashley back to the dance floor.

As all seven of them danced and laughed, Spencer and Ashley shared a smile. Ashley's smile told Spencer that she would get over of this crush of hers soon and everything would be great between them. Spencer's told Ashley that she would always be her friend, but her heart was with Aiden.

If only both of those smiles weren't lies.

**Note: **Okay, so you just have to review for this chapter. Especially with an ending like that. How'd I do? Was their first kiss how you imagined it would be? Did you hate it? Did you love? Was it just okay? These are things I need to know people! I'm especially proud of myself for not giving any hints in my top note about what was to come. I wanted y'all to be surprised. Review! Review! Review!

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	9. Something

**Note: **How am I doing on the updates now, huh? Not bad, right? Well, just a warning, I go back to school next week (can't wait!) and as much as I love this story, that will be my main priority. Weird, I know, but that's just me. I'll try to keep updating as much as possible, but I can't make any promises. But do not worry. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF FORGETTING ABOUT THIS STORY. I never like it when stories are just left alone and never finished and I don't want to do that to y'all.

Oh, and by the way. On my last update, there was supposed to be the little smiley faces at the end of all my responses to your reviews, but they just came out as squares. Sorry about that.

awe: Yes, yes, Spencer knows already. I thought about prolonging it, but I really just go with what I feel at the moment and make it work later. Don't be mad at Spencer. She's having a tough time, too. (Insert smiley face here)

StarbucksOD22: I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you like Starbucks. I'm not really sure why I think that, but I'm going with it. Amazing? Really? Well now I'm giddy. (Insert smiley face here)

Ryoko05: Yes she did. It needed to be done. (Insert smiley face here)

me4son: I post the chapters as I complete them, so I don't have any written in advance. Sorry. Here's an update though and I'm glad you like it. (Insert smiley face here)

.HEART: The "lying smiles" is one of my favorite lines that I have ever written, so I'm glad you appreciate it. In time. In time. (Insert smiley face here)

LyricalHarmony53: As you wish. (Insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: You just get me, dude. You just get me. (Insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: I fuckin' love you, man. That's all I can say. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER NINE: **_**Something**_

Spencer sat at the desk in her room with all of her history notes splayed out before her. She was supposed to be studying for a test she had later in the week, but all the Riddlin in the world couldn't make her concentrate on her studies at this point. No, her mental energies were far too preoccupied reliving one moment over and over again in her head.

The other night at the club, a boy had approached Ashley. A very good-looking one at that. Like, model good. She had been dancing with Aiden at the time and she and Ashley had just shared a smile. A smile she felt she shouldn't have given for some reason.

Although Spencer had not been able to hear exactly what the boy had asked Ashley, it was obvious he simply wanted to buy her a drink.

Ashley had said no.

It really was a small thing. She smiled apologetically to the boy and he nodded, a little downtrodden, walking away with his ego bruised.

It was such a strange thing to be thinking about. If anything, one would assume if any actions of that night were being mulled over in her head, it would be Ashley kissing her, but while that did stick in her mind, it wasn't what she was contemplating.

She was contemplating the fact that Ashley had said no. More specifically, she was contemplating how she felt about Ashley saying no.

She had been….relieved.

It made no sense. It would be a good thing for Ashley to move on. Wouldn't it? It would certainly take any strain they might have from Ashley's crush out of their friendship.

Yes, Ashley moving on with other people would definitely be a good thing.

Then why did the thought leave a bad taste a Spencer's mouth?

If a friend had come to Spencer with this dilemma, Spencer would instantly conclude that he or she had feelings for Ashley. But that made no sense in this situation. Spencer loved Aiden. Despite these doubts in the back of her mind, she felt that they were meant to be. She felt that pull that she couldn't explain towards him.

Besides, surely if she felt something more than friendship towards Ashley, she would have known when they kissed. She would have felt it. Then again, the kiss had been very brief and she had been so shocked by it that she hadn't been able to think anything other than 'what the fuck?'

Looking back now, Spencer wasn't sure how she felt about the kiss.

Then the wild thought went through her head that the only way to figure out what it meant to her would be to kiss Ashley again.

And then all Spencer could think about, instead of her history notes, was kissing Ashley again.

**XXX**

Ashley was proud of herself. The other night she had gone to The B/W and handsome boys and beautiful girls had hit on her.

She had turned all of them down.

She knows that this confused everyone but Carmen and had especially confused Spencer considering the circumstances of the previous hours, but that didn't matter because she was proud.

When she had arrived at school at the beginning of the week she had walked to the nurse's office and told her everything. The being alone with Spencer. The fight with Spencer. The kiss with Spencer. The talk with Spencer. The club with Spencer. And the lack of sex with anyone which included Spencer.

Nurse Julie was proud, too.

"That's great, Ashley!" the older woman told the brunette.

Ashley smiled at her. "And you know, even though I wasn't there to get with anyone, I still had a good time."

"You know that's not the only reason I'm proud of you."

The girl looked at the nurse curiously.

"You told Spencer how you feel," Nurse Julie reminded her. "That took courage."

"I only did it because she was gonna leave," she argued.

"It doesn't matter why you did it. You did it," the nurse said wisely.

"Yeah, but it didn't change anything," Ashley said sadly.

"Did you honestly think it would?"

Ashley sighed heavily. "Logically, I knew that it wouldn't, but I still always had this fantasy in my mind where I would tell her and she would confess that she liked me, too and that she was dumping Aiden and then we'd kiss and live happily ever after."

"Sounds like a nice fairy tale."

"I'll call Disney."

The two sat in quiet for a moment before the nurse spoke. "At least she still wants to be friends. I mean, you have to admit, she's in a bit of an awkward situation, but she still likes you enough to want you to be in her life."

"I know that," Ashley said with a sigh. "And I'm happy to be in her life. It's just, if I had things my way, I would be in her life the way Aiden is."

"Not everything's always gonna go your way, Ashley."

The brunette pouted childishly. "Why not?"

"Because the world doesn't revolve around you."

"Why not?"

Nurse Julie rolled her eyes and Ashley smirked, knowing she was being annoying.

"Get to class, sweetie," the woman said.

Ashley huffed. "Fine."

**XXX**

"She likes me! That's what it was! You knew the whole time that Ashley likes me!"

"Well hello to you, too, Spencer," Nurse Julie said to the blonde who just barged into her office. Luckily, no one else was in there.

"Sorry," Spencer said, having enough sense to look sheepish about her outburst. "But you knew. Is this what you and Ashley talk about? Me?"

"Don't ask questions you're not gonna get an answer for," the nurse told her.

"That's a yes."

"That's a non-response. It's not 'yes' and it's not 'no.' It's neither. Now why are you all worked up about this?"

"Why wouldn't I be worked up about this?"

"Well I just thought…" Nurse Julie quickly stopped talking and the blonde girl looked at her curiously before her eyes widened.

"Ashley already told you everything that happened, didn't she."

This time, the nurse's non-response was silence, which most definitely meant 'yes.'

"Am I all you two talk about?"

"If you hadn't noticed, honey, _Ashley_ is all _we_ talk about. All of twice now." The nurse sighed. "Students are getting way too comfortable with me way too fast," She mumbled.

Spencer sat down. "This is so confusing."

"Why? You're going to be friends and that's that. I can see why it's difficult for Ashley, but it's really just awkward for you. Not necessarily hard of confusing. Unless…"

The nurse looked intently at Spencer and the girl could read the nurses mind in that moment.

"No, no, no. I don't like Ashley like that. It's just…"

"It's just what, Honey?"

The blonde girl sighed and sat down in an empty chair. "You know that I'm with Aiden Dennison, right?"

"Yes." The nurse was looking at Spencer curiously, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, when I first met him, I felt this connection to him. He felt it, too. It was like we were meant to be together. Like the universe brought the two of us together on purpose."

"You mean like soul mates?"

"Yes! Exactly!"

The older woman looked at the girl, mulling the idea of soul mates over in her head before deciding that it didn't matter if she believed in it or not. It wasn't her relationship. "Okay, then. Go on."

"Okay, so I feel like Aiden and I are meant to be. In fact, I know that we are, but… I can't help but feel like everything is suddenly out of my control."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Aiden and I are supposed to be together and I have no say in that. I didn't _fall_ in love with him. I just _am_. And I don't know if that's what I want."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the only person in the world who doesn't wanna be in love, Spencer Carlin," the nurse said dramatically to a crowd that didn't exist.

"I don't necessarily not wanna be in love; I just want a say in it."

"That sounds like a pretty reasonable request."

Spencer laughed bitterly. "You'd think so."

"Okay, so what does this have to do with Ashley?" the nurse questioned.

"Well…" Spencer hesitated. She was very comfortable with this women, but she didn't know her all that well and wasn't sure how she felt about divulging all of this very personal information to her. Still, she needed to talk to someone and the nurse seemed to be a neutral party, so if there was a better person to talk to about her situation, Spencer certainly didn't know about it. "The other night, when we went out, Ashley had turned down this guy who had wanted to buy her a drink-."

The nurse momentarily interrupted Spencer. "I'm going to pretend that the drink he wanted to buy her was Dr. Pepper and you're going to play along."

Spencer nodded. "Right, yeah. He wanted to buy her a Dr. Pepper and she turned him down. I had been watching and when I saw her shake her head at him I felt…"

"You felt…?"

The blonde girl took a deep breath and exhaled as she spoke. "Relieved."

"Relieved?" Nurse Julie asked half for clarification and half out of shock and curiosity.

"Relieved."

"Well, that's interesting," the nurse speculated. "Why do you think you were relieved?"

"I'm not sure."

"Spencer, we don't just have feelings for no reason. Think about it."

The girl sat back in her chair and thoroughly analyzed everything that happened that night and how she felt about it.

"Do you like Ashley?" the nurse asked. "I mean, in more than a friend kind of way?"

"No!" Spencer said immediately. "I love Aiden. How could I possibly like Ashley?"

"Honey, if this is about being gay, then…"

"It's not about that. I would have no problem being gay."

"You can say that, but do you mean it?"

"Of course I mean it. Besides, I'm not gay, anyway. I mean, I did once have a crush on a girl, but that doesn't really mean much. Sexuality isn't that simple and you can't always put a label on everything," Spencer said, recalling the night they went to the club where she said something similar to Ashley.

"That's very true," the nurse agreed. "The same goes for love and feelings."

"What?"

"You said you love Aiden, so that means you couldn't possibly like Ashley, but here you are, liking Ashley."

"I do not like Ashley!"

"Okay, okay. So maybe you don't like Ashley. But you certainly don't feel nothing for her, I'll tell you that much."

Spencer rested her elbows on her knees and put her face in her hands.

Nurse Julie certainly wasn't wrong.

**XXX**

"Hey, babe."

Spencer looked up from her screen as she sat in the nearly empty computer room and smiled at her boyfriend.

The smile didn't reach her eyes.

Aiden noticed.

"What's wrong?" The tall boy asked as he sat down at a computer next to Spencer and quickly leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Spencer looked at Aiden amazed. He noticed such little things about her that no one else ever seemed to.

As she looked at him, she realized she noticed little things about him, too.

His movements were slower than normal, so he was tired. When he kissed her cheek, he lingered for a little bit, so he needed some comfort in the form of affection. He wasn't wearing the shark tooth necklace he always has on, so he was in a rush this morning.

Their relationship was so perfect. Why these doubts?

Maybe 'perfect' is not all it's cracked up to be.

Spencer just shook her head in response to her boyfriend's inquiry and he knew to back off. She wasn't in the mood to talk about her problems. Not that she could talk to him about it anyway.

"Are _you_ okay?" Spencer questioned.

Aiden sighed and rubbed his eyes with the index finger and thumb of his right hand.

"My parents were fighting like crazy last night and it went on forever. I didn't get much sleep in between their yelling." That's why he's tired. "It just worries me. They've been fighting so much lately and I'm afraid their gonna spilt up and I won't know what to do." That's why he needs comfort and affection. "This morning the tension was so bad between them, I just couldn't get out of there fast enough." That's why he was in a rush and forgot his necklace.

Spencer scooted her chair closer to his and placed her hand on his cheek, making him rest his head on her shoulder. She kissed the top of his head. "It'll be okay."

See? Perfect.

**XXX**

Ashley was walking through the Elliot Center, blowing off a class, when she looked through the glass walls into the computer room and spotted Spencer and Aiden.

Her heart ached.

A simple crush shouldn't hurt this much.

Kyla was in the Elliot Center doing her homework during a free period when she noticed her stepsister. She then followed Ashley's line of vision and saw Aiden and Spencer. Looking back at Ashley, her sister's expression was heartbreaking.

Kyla Woods was by no means stupid and had never come to a conclusion in her life without carefully considering every detail of the situation, and this was no exception. After the well-practiced process was complete, she had determined the two most likely conclusions.

Ashley liked Aiden or Ashley liked Spencer.

Now she just had to figure out which one it was.

Kyla looked back down at her biology homework. She closed her textbook with a sigh and began packing up her stuff. She certainly wasn't going to be able to concentrate on her schoolwork with this new information floating around in her head, so she might as well talk to Ashley and see what she has to say about her observations.

Kyla rushed to catch up with Ashley as the girl had moved on from watching Spencer and Aiden and went into the Student Center and up to the snack bar that had finally decided to open for the first time all day.

She purchased a packet of Reese's cups, a bag of Cheetos, and a can of Pepsi.

A mini pig-out.

Kyla knew her stepsister had it bad.

"Hey, Ash." Kyla intercepted the downtrodden girl as she began to make her way out of the Student Center.

Ashley didn't even try to hide her bad mood. She never did.

"What do you want?' She said as she continued out of the Student Center, walking through the quad and around the front of the fine arts building where a large spiral of molded clay intended for seating was.

Kyla nearly had to run to keep up with Ashley and she finally spoke when she sat down next to her on the clay. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?" Ashley asked as she struggled to open the bag of chips. She knew if Spencer was here she could open it for her. The thought just made her even more upset.

Carefully, Kyla reached out and took the bag from her stepsister and after a little bit of difficulty, managed to open it. "You mean besides the fact that you came out here to eat junk food alone and are being really bitchy right now?"

Ashley snatched the bag back and immediately began stuffing the Cheetos into her mouth, wondering if Spencer was the only person alive who could open those stupid bags on the first try.

It wouldn't surprise her if she were.

"What? A girl can't eat anymore without being judged?" Ashley popped open her can of soda and took a drink.

Kyla waited for a moment for Ashley to stop drinking before she said what she planned on saying next.

"I saw you looking at Aiden and Spencer."

Ashley was in mid-bite of a Cheeto when her head snapped to the side and she glared at her stepsister, her eyes narrowing, before moving her concentration back to her food. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I really don't."

Ashley had finished her Cheetos in record time and moved on to the Reese's cups.

"Which one do you like?" Kyla asked, just deciding to go for it.

Ashley kept her face on her food but let her eyes wander over to the girl next to her. "I don't like anyone," she said forcefully, through gritted teeth.

"Well, we both know that's a lie, so why don't you just tell me."

When Ashley didn't respond, but instead stuffed an entire Reese's cup into her mouth, Kyla knew she was close to cracking.

"Ashley," she began. "I'm your sister. Blood or not, I love you. You can tell me anything. I just wanna help you."

Ashley forced the chocolate and peanut butter down her throat before speaking. "Yeah, well, you can't help me. It doesn't matter who I like. Nothing will ever happen."

Kyla internally smiled. Case cracked.

"Nothing will ever happen with who?" She prodded carefully.

"Spencer."

Mission accomplished.

"How long have you like her?"

Ashley went on to confess far more to Kyla than either of them expected. This included her talks with Nurse Julie, her current status as celibate, and confessing to Spencer how she felt. The only thing she left out was her kiss with the blonde. While the two had only specifically stated that Aiden was not to be told, Ashley figured not telling anyone at all would be best.

"So that's why you turned down all of those people at the club," Kyla said after Ashley had finished talking.

"Really? That's what you have to say? After everything I just said to you, that's what you're gonna say?"

"I'm sorry, I had just been really curious about it."

"Yeah, well, my voluntary lack of sex is not my biggest concern right now." Ashley downed the last of her Pepsi, the Reese's long since finished.

"You really, really like her, don't you?" Kyla asked, even though it was more a statement.

Ashley shook her head. "More than I ever thought possible."

**Note: **I am aware that my chapters of late are getting a little shorter than they were at the beginning of this story. This is not intentional. I end the chapters where I think it would be best to end it. Please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	10. We Won't Back Down

**Note: **How's this for a fast update, huh? I really just wanted to get one more chapter out before I get to school and everything starts slowing down.

.HEART: Yeah, Ashley's in a pretty unlucky situation. Don't worry. It won't last. (insert smiley face here)

xEyeKissedAGirlx: Here you go. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: Dude, your reviews always make me smile. I too am a rambler and it makes me feel better to know that I am not alone in that. Also, it's fun to read. (insert winky face here) I'm glad I could make your day and I still fuckin' love you, man! (insert smiley face here)

prissy020304: Yeah, I feel like Spencer is definitely the type to need to talk things out. (insert smiley face here)

anLeyda: Nurse Julie is based on a real person and she is awesome. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER TEN: **_**We Won't Back Down**_

Spencer had come to a decision.

It was a tough decision to make. She had mulled it over and over again in her head. She almost decided against it, but one look at that face and her choice was made. That sweet, caring, compassionate, extraordinarily good-looking face.

That face, and more so, the person that face belonged to, made her see that even through all of her doubts, whether they were right or wrong, that she would never come to regret this decision.

It's all about trust.

One look at that face and the person it belonged to and she knew the trust was there. The kind of trust that allows you to not only put your own life in the person's hands, but the life of someone you love in those hands.

Yes, Spencer had made her decision.

Now, all that mattered was the time.

May was nearing, and with it, the end of the school year.

May 5th was less than two weeks away. Spencer would turn sixteen in less than two weeks. And with her turning a year older, she would take another step into adulthood.

She would lose her virginity.

The golden couple was at Aiden's house watching _Wedding Crashers_ on HBO. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and both of his parent's were out, his father deciding to get some work done at the office and his mother spending the day with her sister.

The fights between Aiden's parents had been happening less and less only due to the fact that they tried to never be at the house at the same time. If Mr. Dennison had known that his wife was out, he probably would not have opted for a day at the office. But he didn't know, and so his son and his son's girlfriend had the house to themselves.

The young couple had gone swimming earlier and were both still in their bathing suits, wrapped up in the same giant beach towel, cuddled together on the couch, their bodies still damp from the water.

Spencer's head was resting on her boyfriend's chest, his arm around her shoulders and her legs resting over his thighs.

Having seen _Wedding Crashers_ countless times and knowing that Aiden had seen it even more than that, the blonde figured it was an okay time to talk, so she took her head off of his chest, sitting up as straight as she could in her position, and spoke.

"Hey, Aid?"

The boy's head was already focused on his girlfriend the second she took her head away.

"Yeah?"

"You know how my birthday's coming up?" It was a silly question to ask, but she needed a segue.

"Of course I know. We're throwing you a party." The 'we' that was throwing Spencer a party included him, Ashley, Kyla, Carmen, Glen, and Clay. Of course many others would be attending. It would be held at the Davies Estate, logically because it was by far the biggest house the group of friends had access to. The party also wouldn't be on her actual birthday since it fell on a Wednesday, but the following Saturday evening.

"Yeah, I know." Spencer swallowed the lump in her throat. As comfortable as she felt with the tall boy, this was still embarrassing for her. It was made easier by Aiden waiting patiently for her to speak. Not rushing her or looking at her expectantly. Just waiting, his eyes loving and content and just so _perfect_. "There's, um, something I wanted to do, like, after the party."

"Yeah? What's that?" Still so perfect.

The blonde tried to meet her boyfriend's gaze, but just couldn't, so she looked down into her lap. "I'm ready." She nearly winced the moment she said it, thinking he might not know what she meant.

Aiden looked at his girlfriend curiously for a moment before his eyes widened. There's only so many things that 'I'm ready' can mean, and usually when someone says it, they're talking about sex. This was no different.

The green-eyed boy gingerly hooked his right index finger under Spencer's chin and moved her face up to look at him. His lips formed a small smile. She wanted him to be her first. How could he not smile?

He did, however, have to make sure that this was really what she wanted. "Are you sure?"

Spencer ran her eyes over Aiden.

That face. That sweet, caring, compassionate, extraordinarily good-looking face and the person that face belonged to.

Trust.

Trust was behind that face.

She was sure. Despite every doubt in her mind about this oh-so perfect relationship, she was sure about this. "Yes. I'm sure."

Aiden smiled and kissed her gently on the lips. Spencer kissed back.

And maybe, just maybe, this would erase those doubts of hers.

**XXX**

"Hey, guys." Clay approached Spencer, Aiden, Ashley, Kyla, and Carmen who were all sitting on the floor in the locker room during lunch period on Monday, the week of Spencer's birthday.

The group of friends greeted him.

"Chelsea and Sean are in for your party, Spence," the boy informed his sister.

"Great." Spencer smiled. She didn't know much about Sean, but he seemed nice and Chelsea was probably one of the most genuinely cool people she had ever met.

"And Glen also wanted me to tell you that Madison heard about the party, so he kind of had to invite her."

Spencer's smile fell.

Madison had never been outwardly rude to her, but then again, she was never outwardly rude to anyone, she was just a bitch behind people's backs. She had hoped that by some miracle that the Latina wouldn't hear about the party, or if she did, not want to go, but if she confronted her about it, she would invite her.

Glen and Madison were sort of an odd pair. The blond boy was very laid back and relaxed, where as Madison was….not. He seemed pretty okay with it though. In fact, when Paula and Arthur had asked their son about his girlfriend, his exact response had been 'she's a bitch.'

"It'll be fine," Aiden told Spencer. "We'll just make Glen stick with her the whole time."

"Yeah, he'll keep her occupied," Carmen said with a smirk, letting everyone catch her drift.

Ashley, Aiden, and Kyla laughed while Spencer and Clay groaned in disgust, not wanting to think about the ways their brother could keep his girlfriend 'occupied.'

"On that note, I'm gonna go," Clay said. "Later."

The small group all spoke some form of 'goodbye' as the boy left and then returned to their conversation.

"Okay, so Andy said he would DJ the party for free," Ashley began. "He said it would give him exposure or something."

"What's he go by?" Kyla asked.

"DJ Party Man," Aiden answered.

"Is he any good?" Spencer questioned.

"Me and Ash heard him play at The B/W a few months ago. He was pretty good," Carmen responded.

"Fine with me." Spencer didn't really know what qualified as being a good DJ, but she figured party music was party music, so it didn't really matter.

Honestly, her thoughts about the upcoming Saturday were more centered on what was happening after the party. Her parents had been informed that she would be staying over at Ashley's after the party, which didn't really bother them. They would have their traditional special dinner on her actual birthday and give her gifts then, so she could do whatever she wanted Saturday. Little did they know that she would actually be at Aiden's house that night. Mr. Dennison would be out of town for a business meeting of some sort and Aiden had convinced his mother to go to some spa for the weekend. They would be completely alone.

Spencer's thoughts had basically been centered on this upcoming alone time since it had been planned.

A bit of the romantic nature of the occasion was sacrificed because it had actually been planned, but there was no other way, and Spencer knew that Aiden would make it special regardless.

She just wished she wasn't so nervous.

The friends continued to talk while Spencer kept quiet, trying not the think about everything that might go wrong. Everything that she could do wrong.

Without warning, Spencer felt a pair of soft lips kiss her temple. She looked up into Aiden's warm eyes and relaxed, remembering the words he had told her before when she had expressed these fears to him: 'There is nothing you could do that would be wrong.'

Spencer relaxed.

He was just too perfect.

And then those doubts crept back up.

He was just _too _perfect.

We were just _meant_ to be.

This was the _plan_.

A plan Spencer had no say in.

The blonde looked back at her boyfriend.

She loved him. She really did. She wanted to sleep with him. She wanted to be close to him. But at the same time, she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

She wanted her _own_ plan.

**XXX**

Carmen and Kyla had gotten caught up in talking about something Ashley wasn't really paying attention to that had dominated the conversation of the group, which she was okay with. She was too busy watching Aiden and Spencer interact.

She was aware that it was a little bit creepy, the way she was watching them, but she couldn't find a way to care as Aiden kissed her temple and they shared a loving look.

Ashley had thrown herself into this party. She honestly wasn't sure if she was doing it for recognition from the blonde, or as a way to distract her mind from the girl, but either way, she was doing it.

Now that Kyla knew about her 'fondness for Spencer,' as her stepsister had put it in a previous conversation, she felt better. Of course Nurse Julie was awesome to talk to, but she wasn't always available given that Ashley was only able to see her at school. She did have the woman's home and cell phone number, given to her last year when they got really close, the nurse assuring her that if she ever needed anything, she could call, but Ashley had never taken advantage of this and figured that she never would. There had to be some boundaries. Having Kyla to talk to made things a little better.

Someone she didn't have hide around. Which is what she felt like she was doing half the time. Hiding.

Hiding feelings. Emotions. Too-long-to-be-a-simple-glance-looks at the blonde. Sometimes it was just too much.

Just like looking at Spencer and Aiden in their happy couple moment was.

"I'll see you guys later," Ashley said, getting up and leaving before anyone could question it.

The rest of the group was taken out of their own little worlds upon her words and were left looking after the brunette's retreating form curiously.

Then Kyla chanced a look at Aiden and Spencer and saw them wrapped up in each other, and she understood.

At first, Ashley had planned on heading to the nurse, but then decided against it. She wanted to be alone.

There are plenty of places on the Greenhill campus where one could be alone. The options typically shifted depending on the time of day, but there was always a variety.

At this particular time, Ashley decided her best choice was the bleachers by the upper school soccer field.

Settling into the far corner of the top bench, Ashley rested her head against one of the railings and let out a long breath.

Whatever this thing was with Spencer, this crush, she thought it would be gone by now. Especially since the blonde now knew about it.

Wasn't getting something out in the open supposed to help?

A lot of good it did. It really just made Ashley more upset.

Before Spencer knew, Ashley could pretend in her head that if she did tell the Ohio native how she felt, then she would confess that her feelings were returned and everything would be great and dandy after she broke up with Aiden, just like she had confessed was her fantasy to Nurse Julie. As long as Spencer didn't know, then the fantasy could stay alive.

Spencer knew now.

The fantasy died.

Celibacy wasn't helping either. Sex had always been the greatest distraction.

Against her conscience, Ashley cursed Nurse Julie.

**Note: **Please, please, please review. I didn't get as many reviews as I usually do for the last chapter. I don't know if it just seems that way because I'm updating this a lot sooner than I usually do and some people haven't read it yet or what, but please review. Reviews make me happy and want to update more. Plus, when you review, you can tell me what you like and don't like about the story and then I can make it better.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	11. Situations

**Note: **Well, school has started, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I warned you before that my priorities have shifted to my studies now, so this is going to have to take a back seat, so there will be less frequent updating, but I'm telling you again anyways and I'm sorry. I really do wish that I could just sit around all day and write for y'all and read other's stories, but alas, I have to make something of myself. Don't blame me. Blame this stupid society that for some reason values higher education.

me4son: My loyal reviewer? Really? Moi? I'm honored. Sorry this wasn't as quick as the last one. If you read my notes you know my excuse. (insert smiley face here)

anLeyda: Ashley does need some love! Let's see what we can do about that. And don't worry, Spencer will 'Escape the Fate.' This story is not called 'Not Escaping the Fate' for a reason. Hehe. I made a funny. At least in my opinion. (insert smiley face here)

McrFreak1991: I was trying to trick you! Yay! I was so sure that people would be like, 'oh she's bullshitting us.' I'm so glad it worked. Sorry you don't like her decision, but there has to be some sort of situation in this story or else it would just be fluff, which I'm sure many people would be okay with, but not for this story. (insert smiley face here)

LyricalHarmony53: Why thank you! (insert smiley face here)

Prissy020304: Yeah, I really wanted more people to know about what Ashley is going through and I thought Kyla would be the best choice. Glad you like it. (insert smiley face here)

Ryoko05: I might follow your advice, I might not. You'll have to read and find out. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: I think I'm becoming a little biased towards your reviews. If you choose to abuse this power, I can't say I would blame you. And I always want to here about cookies. Always. I fuckin' love you, dude. I fuckin' love you. (insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: Censorship sucks. To punctuate this opinion, here is a list of cuss words: Fuck. Shit. Cunt. Asshole. Motherfucker. No worries about non-reviews for previous chapters. You're loyal reading is what counts. (insert smiley face here)

Aguslalinda: The Netherlands?! Kick ass, man! I'm so glad you decided to give this story a chance. Welcome aboard. You'll find that we accept everyone with open arms….except gay people. Haha! Just kidding. Can you imagine? (insert smiley face here)

Raingazer: I promise the suffering will not last forever. Just bare with me, and we'll get through it together. (insert smiley face here)

.HEART: I realize that your name got cut off on my last post. I tried to reload it, but it did the same thing, so I apologize for that. Will Spencer? Or won't Spencer? We shall see. (insert smiley face here)

Charly: I hope this eases your anxiousness. And Spencer will get her own plan. That is a promise. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: **_**Situations **_

The party was huge. Spencer wasn't sure if her friends and brothers had been trying to go for a "sweet sixteen" kind of feel, but either way, it was awesome.

The only people who were meant to be there were people that Spencer could actually consider at the very least acquaintances. Spencer never realized how many people she actually knew. Pretty much her entire grade was there, a large portion of the juniors, quite a few freshmen, and a surprising amount of seniors. The Davies Estate could never be called small or a standard sized house for that matter, but with all of these people packed in there, it looked less monstrous than normal.

"Hey, Spence!"

Spencer turned around and saw Carmen. "Hey!"

"So?" The dark-haired girl lifted her hands in the air, gesturing to the party going on around her. "What do you think?"

"This is awesome!"

"Yeah. Ash and I know how to throw a party," Carmen bragged.

"Oh, hey, where is Ashley? I haven't seen her all night," Spencer questioned.

"Last I saw her she was outside."

"Okay, thanks," the blonde said as she made her way through the throng of people who all wished her a 'happy birthday' as she passed to the back yard where there were significantly less people, but still enough to be a crowd.

The blonde searched the grounds until she found the brunette she was looking for sitting on a bench that was next to a tree near the back of the grounds.

She was not alone.

Sitting on the bench next to Ashley was Brendon Goldman. Senior. Quarterback. _Hot_.

Ashley and Brendon were quite obviously flirting. She threw her head back and laughed at something he said as she lightly punched him in the arm, him chuckling, happy to let her abuse his body. She was a beautiful girl after all.

Spencer watched this exchange with curious eyes, an interested mind, and a confused heart.

Telling herself that this was a good thing, that Ashley should move on, the blonde walked away to find her boyfriend.

**XXX**

Ashley had been having a pretty good time. She had only heard Andy DJ once before, and while he was good then, he had gotten better. She watched impressed as he easily worked his magic with the disks.

Andy had just waved to her, and she was waving back and giving him a smile of approval when Brendon walked up behind her.

"Andy always said he could DJ, but I didn't know he was actually any good," the well-muscled senior said.

Ashley turned around and was a little surprised with who was talking to her. She didn't know Brendon personally, but she knew of him. Who doesn't know the quarterback?

"Yeah, he is," she responded.

"You're Ashley Davies, right?"

"Yep. And you're Brendon Goldman."

"Right you are."

The two continued to talk for a while inside until it got too loud, so they took their conversation to the backyard. Ashley led the senior to a bench that sat by a tree near the back when the boy suggested they should have some privacy.

Ashley knew what he was after. She also knew that he wouldn't get it.

Just because she needed to move on from Spencer didn't mean she was going to break her promise to Nurse Julie.

Besides, she liked flirting and Brendon was nice to talk to. He wasn't bad to look at either.

"So, you maybe wanna go somewhere?" Brendon asked, his eyes eager and full of hope. He may be the quarterback, but he didn't get everything he wanted.

Ashley knew that was the international code for 'will you have sex with me?' but she thought it might be more fun to mess with him. He wasn't getting in her pants anyway.

"We are somewhere," she said cheekily.

"Well, we could go somewhere else," Brendon suggested.

"What's wrong with here?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just thought we might be more comfortable somewhere else."

"Are you not comfortable here?"

"No, of course I am," he insisted.

"Because I'm _very_ comfortable here."

Brendon looked like he was going to go for another try at getting her upstairs, but then decided against it. "Well, if you're comfortable here and I'm comfortable here, then let's stay here."

Ashley hadn't been expecting that. She figured once he realized he would be getting nowhere, he would ditch her. She was pleasantly surprised to find herself wrong.

"Okay," Ashley agreed. "We'll stay here."

"You wanna hear a good joke?" Brendon asked, looking a little unsure of himself.

Ashley thought it was cute how when he was only looking for sex he was confident and smooth, but now that he knew that wasn't going to happen, he wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Always."

"Okay, so, there's a bear and a squirrel in the middle of a forest and they come across this magic lamp. They decide that they should both rub it and then maybe they'll both get three wishes, so they do. The genie then pops out of the lamp and says, 'since you both rubbed me you will both get three wishes.' The bear then goes first and he wishes that he were the only male bear in the entire forest so that all of the female bears will have to come to him. The genie then grants his wish and turns to the squirrel. The squirrel wishes for a helmet, so the genie gives him a helmet. Then, the bear says, 'wait, I wish I was the only male bear in all of the nearby forests as well, so all of those female bears will have to come to me, too,' and the genie grants his wish. Then the squirrel wishes for a motorcycle, so the genie gives him a motorcycle. Then, for the bear's final wish, he decides he wants to be the only male bear in the entire world so every female bear in the world has to come to him, and the genie grants the bear his finale wish. The squirrel then puts on the helmet, gets on the motorcycle and starts it up and gets ready to go, and then says, 'I wish that bear was gay.'"

It wasn't very often that Ashley found jokes to actually be funny, but this one she really liked. She laughed as she tossed her head back, lightly punching Brendon in the arm as she did so, him laughing a little at his own joke as well.

After the brunette girl's laughter died down she spoke. "That was awesome."

"Yeah, that's like to only non-knock knock joke I know, so cherish it."

"Will do."

**XXX**

The party was starting to wind down as more and more people left until finally Andy had packed up his stuff and gone home.

Spencer and Kyla thanked people for coming as they left until the only people in the house were them, Aiden, Glen, Clay, and Madison who was apparently sticking around until Glen left.

"So, are we gonna have to clean all of this up?" Glen asked, looking apprehensively at the mass amounts of trash scattered around the room.

"Yup," Kyla said with a sigh, rubbing her hand across her forehead.

"We better get started," Spencer said, leaning down to begin the process.

"Not you, Spence," Kyla said, stopping the blonde girls movements.

"Yeah," Aiden agreed. "This party was for you. You're not gonna clean up after it."

Spencer thought about arguing, but then realized that she had no desire to help with the process, and since they were offering, decided to go with it. "Awesome."

The rest of the people in the room, which didn't include Madison anymore who practically ran out the door when the first mention of cleaning was brought up, began picking up all of the plastic cups and other remnants of the party while Spencer flopped herself down on the couch. Looking around all of her friends, she realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Ash?"

"I don't know, but she better get in here and help us clean this up," Kyla muttered.

"I'll find her," Spencer said, standing up from the couch.

The blonde decided that the best place to look would be where she last saw the brunette, so she headed to the back yard, and low-and-behold, they was Ashley, still talking to Brendon Goldman.

She stood for a moment, just watching them, until realizing how incredibly creepy that was, before approaching the two.

"Hey, guys," the blonde said, slowly approaching them.

"Hey, Birthday Girl," Brendon said.

"Heh, yeah." Spencer momentarily forgot why she had gone in search of Ashley in the first place, but then noticed all of the trash that littered the back yard as well and was reminded. "We're starting to clean up. I mean, everyone is gone so…"

"Oh, yeah." Ashley stood up and turned to Brendon. "I should go help."

"You know I could stay and help, too," Brendon offered.

Ashley smiled. "That'd be great. Thank you."

"No problem."

The two then walked into the house with a hesitant Spencer in tow. The blonde had no reason that she could think of to dislike Brendon as much as she did, but she just didn't like him.

**XXX**

The drive back to Aiden's house had been a little awkward for Spencer at first, but then her boyfriend took her hand in his and smiled at her and she felt better.

Then of course they got to his house and the nerves came back. But Aiden said 'I love you' and Spencer was able to relax once again.

Aiden led the blonde up the stairs of the otherwise unoccupied house and into his bedroom, and when she left that bedroom the next morning, she was no longer a virgin.

Spencer spent the night with Aiden, his arms wrapped around her. She felt safe and secure and loved and accepted.

That was one of the things that marveled Spencer about this idea that they were 'meant to be.' She felt so comfortable with Aiden. She could relax and be herself and she was loved for it. For being exactly who she was.

But Aiden had no more control over this than Spencer did. She made him feel the same way and she did nothing more than be herself, just like he did.

The only difference was, Aiden wasn't questioning these feelings. Spencer was.

Still, regardless of whether Aiden had control over these things or not, he did it anyway, which is why, no matter what happened in the future, Spencer would never come to regret this decision. She felt that, above all, they were best friends. And that was something that never would, never could, change.

**Note: **I realize that many people will be upset with what I've done here. I did take all of your opinions into consideration on whether or not Spencer should sleep with Aiden, but in the end, it was my choice (well, Spencer's choice) and I did what I thought worked best with the story. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but keep in mind that this is not meant to be fluff. There will be things that the characters will do that you won't like. That's what makes it angst. If the characters did everything right the first time and nothing ever went wrong, there would be no story. Then, the ending of when they do get to be together wouldn't be nearly as satisfying. If you want to bash me I cant stop you, but do consider what I'm saying. South of Nowhere was (past tense, so sad) a drama and there is no drama without conflict.

On another note, the joke that Brendon told Ashley is my favorite joke.

Please review.


	12. The Structure Falls

**Note: **I don't know if anyone is still reading this considering it's been a few months since I last updated. Sorry about that. Schoolwork and writers block teamed up for an epic battle against me. If you are still reading this, thank you. This chapter is dedicated to Sparkyleathers08 for our long conversations about everything and nothing.

I know it's been awhile, but I still respond to everyone's reviews for this story.

Ryoko05: I'm glad you like this joke. I'm also glad you agree with me about Spencer sleeping with Aiden. (insert smiley face here)

.HEART: I'm glad you liked the joke, too! I'm also glad you agree about the Aiden thing. There needs to be conflict. (insert smiley face here)

Movies7Too: I'll try to get some more good jokes in there, but I can't make any promises. Spencer does have the right to do what she wants! (insert smiley face here)

anNtidote: I love the squirrel, too, the brilliant little guy. I like to think I'm all about keeping things as close to real situations as I can get for this, so thank you. I really appreciate that. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: Love you, dude. What else can I say? (insert smiley face here)

usagi-neko: Even though the "today" that you found it was months ago by now, I'm glad you did. This was not by any means a quick update, so sorry for that. (insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: That was my thoughts on her sleeping with him. It's all about trust and love. And I'm sure you do lots of things right! (insert smiley face here)

Aguslalinda: Brendon is just there for the conflict, don't you worry. I'm all about Spashley. (insert smiley face here)

I can't believe so many people agreed with me about Spencer sleeping with Aiden. I'm glad you understood. Now, on with the story….finally.

**CHAPTER TWELVE: **_**The Structure Falls**_

The following Sunday morning when Spencer got back home was probably the most anxious and scared the blonde had ever been to enter her own house. It wasn't necessarily the entering her house part that had her scared, but rather the facing her parents aspect of it. She felt like they would know, just by looking at her, that she had had sex.

She unconsciously wiped her hand across her forehead, hoping to rid her face of the imaginary ink that spelled 'sinner' above her brow.

"Spence, is that you?"

Spencer whipped her head around to the direction of her mother's voice.

"Y-yeah," she managed to croak out.

The Ohio native slowly made her way into the kitchen where her mother resided. She approached the woman who sat at the breakfast table, enjoying her day away from the hospital and reading the _Dallas Morning News_, her daily sudoku puzzle already having been attempted and left for Arthur to complete. The surgeon didn't understand why it was that she could perform complicated medical procedures, but nine boxes filled with numbers had her stumped.

Spencer took a deep breath and when she spoke, was able to not sound like she was a nervous wreck. "What's up, Mom?"

"How was your night?" Paula asked, barely glancing up from the article she was currently invested in.

"What?" Spencer's voice took on a panicking quality, but it went unnoticed.

"The party? How was it?" her mother clarified.

"Oh." The blonde girl relaxed. "It was great."

"Good. And the sleepover with Ashley?"

Spencer rolled her eyes. She hated it when her mother used the word 'sleepover.' It made her feel like she was ten. "It was fun. I had a good time."

Paula must have finished the article she had been reading because she finally looked up from the paper to her daughter for more than a passing moment. "I'm glad." She continued to look at her only daughter and youngest child, making said child nervous of what it was she was looking at.

Spencer wiped her forehead again.

Paula continued to speak. "I can't believe you're sixteen already."

For the second time that morning, Spencer rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, Mom. Yes, I'm growing up. It happens."

"I know, I know. I just didn't think it would happen so fast."

In true teenager fashion, Spencer sighed and muttered 'whatever' before going up to her room to take a nap. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night with Aiden. It wasn't that they had stayed up all night together, but she still wasn't familiar enough with his room to be able to fall asleep in it.

When Spencer woke up a few hours later, she had a text message waiting for her.

_U r perfect. In case u didnt kno. _It was Aiden.

The blonde girl couldn't help but smile at how sweet her boyfriend was and told him so in her response. _Ur 2 sweet. _

_I wish we cud do something 2day but im swamped w/ hw._

_Me 2. But ill c u 2morrow brite and early._

_Ill bring u coffee and a muffin. _

_Perfect. :)_

_;)_

And with that, Spencer finally put down her cell phone and got to work on her research paper.

**XXX**

"Coffee, three sugars, no cream and a blueberry muffin for m'lady."

Spencer smiled up at her boyfriend who presented her coffee (just the way she liked it) and baked-good (why mess with the classics?) proudly.

"Thank you," she said as she took the items from him before standing up on her toes to give him a kiss.

Aiden smiled, his lips tingly from contact with hers. "Anytime."

"Ech, you two are so sickeningly sweet," Glen said as he passed by his sister and friend on his way to the lockers. Spencer and Aiden didn't pay him any mind, though, and sat down at one of the tables in the Student Lounge so Spencer could enjoy her breakfast before class in the company of her boyfriend.

They talked easily about nothing too serious, but their eyes spoke volumes to each other. A huge step had been taken in their relationship over the weekend. They had talked about it afterwards and again, the next morning, so there was really nothing more that either needed to say on the matter, but still, they felt closer to each other in a way that couldn't be explained through words. Thus, the communicating with their eyes.

When Spencer finished her coffee and a good portion of the muffin, the rest of which Aiden received permission to scarf down, the two stood up and gathered their belongings.

"Thank you for breakfast," the blonde said sincerely.

"Anytime. I gotta get to class, but I'll see you later," Aiden told Spencer before he kissed her cheek goodbye.

Spencer waved after him.

"Hey, Spence."

The blonde turned around and spotted Kyla. "Hey."

"That party was awesome. Everyone's talking about it."

"You know, you and Ashley threw it, so you're really just complementing yourself," Spencer pointed out.

"I'm comfortable with that," Kyla said with a cheeky grin.

"Well, as long as you're comfortable."

The pair continued their talk of the previous weekend's activities on their way to their first class of the day, which they shared.

In the hallway, Spencer spotted Ashley talking to Brendon Goldman. They were flirting. Again. Spencer got that same weird, confusing feeling that she got the night of the party when she saw them talking. She once again, chose to ignore it and walked into class with Kyla.

**XXX**

Ashley enjoyed talking to Brendon. Who wouldn't? He was smart, funny, and charming. He was good company and he didn't make her feel nervous or give her butterflies.

There was other company that Ashley also enjoyed, probably more than she should, that did make her nervous and give her butterflies. The logical thing to do would be to stick with the company that didn't do those things. Typically, no one could claim that Ashley always did the logical thing. But this time, with the other, nervous and butterfly giving company out of reach, Ashley decided that the logical choice was the one for her.

Now she just had to make herself believe it.

Nurse Julie, here she comes.

"Hey, Ashley. How are you?"

"I'm okay," the California born girl said as she sat down in the extra chair.

"Are you really, or are you just saying that?" the nurse asked as she pushed aside the paper work that sat in front of her.

"Well, I'm better than I was last week, so yeah, I think I'm doing okay." It was the honest truth.

"That's good to hear. What makes this week better?"

"Do you know Brendon Goldman?"

"He's the varsity quarterback, right?"

"Correct." Ashley said this with a small and slightly smug smile on her face.

"Ashley Davies, are you going out with Brendon Goldman?"

"No, no, not _going out_… _talking_."

"Talking?"

"Talking."

"Would this talking be in the realm of flirting?" Nurse Julie looked positively giddy.

"It's not just in the _realm_ of flirting, it's in the…. it's flirting." The brunette was a little disappointed in herself for not being able to come up with a good analogy, but that didn't matter. She had been flirting with Brendon Goldman.

"And does he…return this form of communication?"

"Return it? He initiates it."

"That's great!" The nurse was ecstatic. "So, you like him?"

"Well," Ashley said coyly. "He's nice and funny and super good-looking. Yeah, I like him."

"Good. I'm glad."

Nurse Julie briefly thought about bringing up Spencer, but she figured Ashley would if she wanted to and Brendon has certainly put her in a better mood than she's been in a while, so she decided against. Instead she decided to dampen Ashley's mood with a different subject.

"Finals are coming up."

Ashley sighed heavily, as if she could not think of a worse torture on Earth to be subjected to than final exams. "Yeah."

"Have you started studying?" The nurse already knew the answer.

"Totally."

Correction: the nurse knew the _truthful_ answer.

**XXX**

Spencer's plan to ignore her reaction to whatever was going on between Ashley and Brendon was failing on an epic scale. The more she tried not the think about, the more she thought about it, which in terms of the mind and psychology and well, logic, made perfect sense. But Spencer was a confused teenager, and no matter how many A+ tests her parents may have stuck to the refrigerator in her life, the hormones of adolescence would always trump rational thought processes.

Finally, though, during a free period, a helpful thought crossed her mind.

_Nurse Julie. _

When Spencer walked into the nurse's office, she immediately started talking. This was unfortunate considering that there was someone else in the room besides Nurse Julie. It took a moment for the blonde to realize this, and while she thankfully hadn't said anything completely embarrassing, she still blushed and apologized while the boy getting his fingers wrapped looked at her like she was crazy. She sat down in a chair in the far corner and waited for them to finish, Nurse Julie having trouble holding back the laughter.

When the boy finally left, Spencer was about to open her mouth when another voice, not the one belonging to the nurse, spoke first.

"Maybe you should wait until I leave, too."

Spencer looked in the direction the voice came from and saw Ashley, sitting on the opposite side of the room on a cot. Ashley had still been talking with Nurse Julie when the boy with the injured fingers came in and they put their conversation on pause, the California girl keeping quiet on the cot.

"Oh." That was the only response that Spencer managed to vocalize as she thoroughly went over everything she had said when she first walked in before being filled with relief when she was positive that she had not said Ashley's name, or anyone's name for that matter.

Spencer and Ashley had a mini stare down with the nurse in the middle who was very seriously considering leaving the two alone to talk. Her lunch break was coming up soon anyway. She sighed, realizing that would be far too cruel. She instead decided to interrupt the moment with a witty comment.

"If you two are just going to stare at each other, then there are far more suitable places than my office."

That seemed to snap the two girls out of it and they both began talking at the same time, offering to leave so the other could stay and talk with the nurse.

Ashley won in the end, citing that she had already been there for some time and it was Spencer's turn. Nurse Julie didn't know whether to feel offended or honored that people where having to wait 'turns' for her.

The brunette slipped out of the room, brushing past Spencer and closing the door behind her.

The blonde girl stood in silence for a moment longer before speaking. "Sometimes I forget that you're not my own personal therapist and that other people might be in this room."

The nurse simply laughed, remembering the few times last year when Ashley had done the same thing, forgetting that she was the school nurse and had other responsibilities besides helping the brunette sort through her confusing thoughts.

"Don't worry about it. Now what's up?" Nurse Julie sat back in her chair and waited for the girl to speak.

Spencer was about to head for the cot to sit down, but remembering that Ashley had been sitting there moments ago, decided against it for reasons she didn't understand and instead chose to lean against the counter next to the sink.

"Ashley's been flirting with Brendon Goldman," she began with, even though she figured the nurse already knew this. Before when she had barged in she just started talking without thinking about some of her very vague feelings. This time, she had composed herself and thought before she spoke.

"Yes."

"I don't like it. I don't like _him_."

"Why not?"

Spencer didn't have an answer.

"Because Ashley likes him?" Nurse Julie had the answer, though.

"I don't know why this is happening to me," Spencer said, her voice full of defeat.

"What's happening to you?"

"I'm liking someone while loving someone else." That was the first time Spencer had admitted to liking Ashley in a manner that implied more than friendship to herself. It was as if she just couldn't fight it anymore.

Nurse Julie recognized this, and while it was nice to hear the blonde admit it and it pained her to see Ashley in such distress over wanting this girl, even though it seemed like she was finally moving on, she would never use this opportunity to mess with a relationship for the brunette, or for anyone. She decided to tell the girl what she thought was right.

"Spencer," the woman said delicately. "I know this may be difficult to think about and go through, but I'm sure you're not the first person who has liked more than one person at the same time. And if you do really _love_ Aiden, then there's nothing to think about. I know you feel like you're losing control of your own life by being with him. Like fate has taken a hold, but if you love him and you want to be with him, then that's what you need to do. Having a crush on Ashley will pass, but love is something that likes to stick around."

And then Spencer's blue eyes widened and she simply understood everything.

Well, not everything. The feelings she had for all of these problems and people were still a little blurry and how she was going to deal with them left her with an even bigger question mark.

But she did understand what was wrong with her and Aiden.

It was exactly like Nurse Julie had just said: "If you love him and want to be with him, then that's what you need to do."

Spencer loved Aiden, without a doubt. Fate had taken care of that. What she felt for the boy was etched into her heart and mind forever.

But did she want to be with him? That was the million dollar question.

**Note: **This chapter was a big turning point, not just for the story, but also for me writing it. I now have a much clearer idea of how I am going to pull this off than I did before.

Please review. Pretty, pretty please with sugar and spice and attractive woman on top.


	13. Going Out On a Chariot of Fire

**Note:** So, it's not an incredibly fast update, but it's not months and months, right?

Another note, I know that the name of this chapter in here is different than what it says on the little bar in the top right. It was too many characters to use the whole thing. I just wanted to let you know that. I'm not sure why.

sparkyleathers08: Mmmm. Cookies. The mountain was awesome, by the way. I do happy dances, too! Way too much in fact. Still love ya. (insert smiley face here)

Movies7Too: I do not in fact celebrate Christmas, but I appreciate the intent. And by the way, I love it when people say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas" only because I heard Hermione say it in Harry Potter and so every time someone says it I imagine it's Hermione telling me "Happy Christmas." I don't know if you're a Harry Potter fan or not, but I thought I would share that with you. I'm aware that I'm a little off. Glad you can see the shift coming. (insert smiley face here)

marie: Yeah, I have a little soft spot Brendon. Yay for speeding up Spashley! (insert smiley face here)

prissy020304: I enjoy your loyalty. Here's the update. (insert smiley face here)

TildeX: Why thank you! I'm glad this was the amazing story you found. I think people are too mean to Aiden and Carmen, too. Especially Aiden. Those cliché love stories are actually one of the reasons I wrote mine like this. Don't get me wrong, a lot of those are really exceptional, but I just wanted to make mine a little different. Show love in a different light. I'm glad you like it! (insert smiley face here)

Aguslalinda: I'm happy that I kept writing, too. Spashley is on it's way. (inset smiley face here)

me4son: Hooray for attractive women! College is a killer. A deadly, deadly killer. Here's you're update. (insert smiley face here)

KITTYKAT: I know this isn't soon, but I hope you still like it. (insert update here)

LyricalHarmony53: I like your review. A lot. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm glad you like the concept. I thought I would take the plot of one of them with Aiden and falling for the other and give it a small, slightly supernatural tweak. It's good to know I'm doing it well. (insert smiley face here)

xwpblue: Borrow away! Yes, the angst, confusion, and grey-ness is a must. We are talking about teenagers here. Glad you like it. (insert smiley face here)

spashleyfics: Suffer no more! You're update has arrived. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN: **_**When I Go Out, I'm Gonna Go Out On a Chariot of Fire**_

It seemed lately that Spencer was in her own little world. She was much quieter and less involved and everyone had noticed. It was clearly causing Aiden a good bit of distress, but Spencer wouldn't talk about it, no matter how much he pleaded, and so there was nothing he could do.

Ashley made the conscious decision to not think over it or get involved in anyway. Spencer was a big girl and she could deal with her own troubles, and if not, well then she was also old enough to be able to ask for help when she needed it. Yes, Ashley had decided that all non-strictly friendship issues involving the blonde girl were not her concern.

School was almost out and summer was fast approaching.

Ashley and Brendon were getting closer.

They hadn't slept together. Ashley remained celibate. But if Ashley was not with her friends or Nurse Julie, and Brendon was not with his buddies from the team, then it was likely that they were together. Very likely. One could bet on it with total confidence.

The pair weren't really anything official, but they were definitely dating. With just the summer remaining before Brendon went off to college at Syracuse University, they saw no need to make anything serious out of their relationship.

"Hey, Ash."

Ashley looked back at the senior while she continued to walk to her class and he fell into stride with her.

"Hey, Brendon. You just finish your AP exam?"

"Yup."

"How did ya do?"

"I think I got a zero."

"The lowest score you can get is a one," the California native girl pointed out.

"I know, but they'll probably make an exception for me."

"Aw. That bad?"

The boy just nodded sadly.

Ashley looped her arm through his. "So you have to take freshman English in college. Big deal."

"Yeah, I guess," Brendon sighed, though his face did light up a bit when Ashley locked their arms together.

The two continued talking as the football player walked Ashley to her science class while Spencer, like the serious creeper she was becoming, watched.

She hadn't been following them or anything. She was just sitting under the clock tower when she saw them walking across the quad. So she gave them more than a passing eighth glance. Big deal.

The blonde looked again. Ninth glance.

Spencer sighed, seriously considering skipping her next class to go talk to Nurse Julie. She was done with finals. It wasn't like she would miss anything. But talk to the nurse about what? She had exhausted every topic with the woman over this past week. There was nothing new to say.

Then, Spencer saw Aiden walking across the quad. He didn't spot her.

The boy looked very downtrodden. None of this was fair to him. She knew she loved him. She always would. But the question remained: did she want to be with him?

This question had plagued the blonde girl ever since it popped into her mind. Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no.

On one hand, she figured her serious infatuation with Ashley could be nothing more than teenage hormones fogging up her brain and that when she was older, she would discover that it had just been a simple adolescent crush and that she really _did_ want Aiden the entire time, but was too young and immature to see it before.

On the other hand….

Maybe it's something much more than that and as much as she loves Aiden, a life with him just isn't in the cards for her. Maybe they'd be better as friends, best friends, so that they could go actually _fall_ in love with someone and not just _be _in love. After all, isn't the falling part of love supposed to be the best part? That's the way her parents had always described it when they would tell her about how they met and got together. How they fell in love.

Spencer stared off dreamily into the sky thinking about it. That's what she wanted. That falling. No matter whom it was with, whether someone she already knew or wouldn't meet for years to come. But it wasn't something she would have with Aiden.

Now she just had to tell the boy.

**XXX**

Spencer and Aiden were relaxing….in bed. They may have been naked.

They were definitely naked.

The only audible sound in the room was the heavy panting coming from its two occupants. Both were covered in sweat and significantly less stressed than they had been when they entered the room.

The blonde had to admit, however much she didn't want to be with the boy next to her the way _he_ wanted to be with her, he knew his way around the female body.

The thought struck her as one that should make her jealous. Aiden had obviously been with other girls.

Spencer wasn't jealous at all. In fact, she had to hold back a smile and in her mind thought, _You go, boy._

Just more proof that her subconscious did not want her to be with Aiden anymore than she did.

On that last contemplation, she then thought herself a bit of a slut. She was going to dump him. Break his heart. But she slept with him.

She internally shrugged, guessing that even intellectual thought couldn't override arousal. She was just a recently deflowered girl after all. And he was technically still her boyfriend.

Still, she knew that didn't excuse her behavior. And now she was a little stuck. She couldn't very well break up with him right after the two had had sex. She didn't want him to feel used.

….this situation definitely had a reversal of traditional gender roles.

"Was that pity sex?"

Spencer was startled upon hearing Aiden speak so suddenly and with the words he said.

"W-what?"

"I might have a glare in my eyes from love, but I'm not blinded by it."

Spencer couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate the epic nature of that phrase, and she had to express this out loud. "Great analogy."

"Thanks. It just came to me." Aiden was pretty proud of it.

The two took a moment to then look at each other before they started to laugh. However awkward this moment was, they couldn't _not_ get along. They couldn't _not_ be comfortable with one another.

It took a little bit of time, but eventually their laughing ceased and the question Aiden had posed moments before remained.

"So," the boy began. "Was that pity sex?"

Spencer swallowed a mouthful of air. "Why would you say that?"

"At first I didn't understand. We were so close. I know it happened suddenly, but I still feel like I've known you forever. I feel like I'm supposed to know you for the rest of my life. Then you start to pull away and you won't tell me why. But I think I get it now."

"Get what?"

"It's all one-sided, isn't it? You don't think we're meant to be, do you?"

Spencer took a big breath. "No Aiden, I do think that. In fact I know it. And that's pretty much the problem."

"I don't understand. How is that a problem? You love me, right?"

"Of course I love you. And you were right before, it was sudden, but I do feel like I've known you forever. But we didn't fall in love. We just are."

What are you talking about?" Aiden suddenly sat up and turned his whole body towards the blonde beside him, shaking his head. "Please, just tell me that you wanna be with me. I don't know what you're going on about, but you just have to tell me that we'll always be together."

"Not in the way you're talking about. I do love you, but I can't…_stay_ with you. Not as your girlfriend." Spencer tried to say it as delicately as possible. She thinks she failed in that respect.

"Why not?! You just said you love me." The boy grabbed Spencer's hand with both of his, holding on for dear life. "We're meant to be! We are, I know it!"

"I know we're meant to be Aiden, but that doesn't change how I feel."

The Ohio native had the sudden need to be up and out of that bed. She needed to move. She started pacing the length of the room, Aiden watching her, hope for their lasting relationship slowly draining from his eyes. The fact that there was a naked girl walking back and forth in his room barely registered with him.

The tall boy moved so that he was sitting on the bed facing Spencer, his feet on the floor.

"Explain it to me. Everything you're feeling and thinking. I need to know."

The blonde girl stopped her pacing and faced her soon to be ex-boyfriend, forever best friend.

"I wanna fall in love," she said with a sigh. Aiden opened his mouth, about to speak, but she stopped him before he could. "No, don't talk. Please don't talk right now. Just listen. You want my explanation? Well, I'm gonna do the best I can, I just need you to be patient." The tall boy nodded his head, signaling for her to continue. "Remember when we first met? There was this…spark. This connection we had. I was drawn to you and I know you were drawn to me. I didn't realize it until later, but in that moment, I was in love with you. Not heading towards being in love with you, but _in love_. As if I'd known you forever and I'd never known anything else. It was fate. We are, soul mates, I guess is the word for it. But that doesn't mean I want it to be this way. I kinda wish I could. It would be easier. But I don't. I don't like the idea of fate. I don't wanna not have control of my life. I wanna have a say in who I love. I wanna fall in love. Have that feeling."

Spencer took a breath and examined the boy in front of her who was taking in everything she was saying with a crease between his eyebrows and his jaw locked in displeasure. Obviously, none of this is what he wanted to hear.

She decided to continue speaking.

"You're my best friend. I hope you always will be. But I just can't be with you. And it's not simply because I can't accept not having control over my life. I will admit, I don't like not having a say in my destiny, but there's more to it. I want to be with the person I'm in love with, not _have_ to be."

"You don't like being in love with me?" Aiden questioned, his voice laced with sorrow.

"I don't think I'm actually in love with you. Not anymore. I just love you." She quickly sat down next to him and wrapped him in her arms. "And that's never gonna change."

Aiden shrugged away from her hug and stood up.

"I don't get it," he said. "I don't get it and I don't think I really wanna get it."

"Aiden…"

"No!" he shouted, startling her. "It's supposed to be you and me. You and me together forever and all that romantic fairytale bullshit."

"I'm sorry." Never has Spencer's voice sounded so small and fragile and never had she felt so awful.

Aiden knew that later he would regret yelling at her and making her feel so bad, but he couldn't keep this at bay. He was upset and heartbroken and he needed to let it out.

"You don't get to say that to me! You don't get to tell me you're sorry! You wanna take away everything from me, then you don't get to feel bad about it! I get to feel bad! It's my heart that's getting crushed." His voice cracked and the last sentence he spoke came out just as weak and pathetic as Spencer's had only seconds ago.

Completely defeated and still furious, Aiden grabbed Spencer clothes off of the floor and threw them at her.

"Just go. Leave. Leave like you're leaving this relationship."

Spencer put on her clothes as fast as she could while he threw on his own and the moment she slipped her feet into her flip-flops, Aiden had yanked open his bedroom door and pointed out into the hallway. The blonde immediately got off of the bed and speed walked out of his room, down the steps and to his front door, Aiden following behind her.

Spencer was little stunned by how he was acting. She'd never seen him this way before, at least not with his anger directed at her. She only managed to stutter out her next words.

"I-I don't, I don't have…car."

"I don't care." With that, the boy yanked open his front door, waited for Spencer to finally step outside, and slammed it behind her, the action causing the blonde to flinch, pushing her to tears.

Aiden leaned against his front door, breathing in and out slowly for a few moments. He could hear Spencer crying on the other side and it physically pained him. With a grunt and a shake of his head, he grabbed his keys off the nearby counter and threw the door open and walked passed Spencer and to his truck that sat in the drive way, only barely remembering to close the door behind him, not even bothering to lock it. He got into his vehicle and rolled down the passenger window before shouting to the crying girl on his doorstep.

"Get in! I'm taking you home!"

No matter how angry he was, he could not leave a girl, crying or not, outside to walk home, let alone the girl he loved, and he doubted she wanted to call someone to pick her up, thus having to explain what happened. Not now.

Spencer seemed both surprised and not surprised by his gesture, if that was at all possible, knowing that he was angry, but that he still cared for her. She rushed to the car and got into the passenger seat and he pulled away just as she got her seatbelt fastened.

The drive to Spencer's house was understandably awkward and silent and lasted way too long.

Again, Spencer was both surprised and not surprised to see Aiden wait for her to get into her house before he drove away. Sure it wasn't walking her to her door, but she couldn't help but smile through her drying tears, knowing that no matter what, he cared about her safety. He cared about _her_.

When Aiden finally arrived back home and got to his room, he sat on his bed with a sigh. He noticed that the room still smelled of sex. Sex with Spencer. He never did get his answer as to whether or not it had been pity sex, but he figured that it didn't really matter at that point.

Finally, his jaw unclenched and a single tear leaked out of his right eye and clung to his lower lashes, holding on for dear life, until he blinked, that small motion sending the water droplet streaming down his cheek.

He and Spencer were over.

**Note:** I was having a little trouble deciding how Aiden and Spencer would behave in this particular situation so sorry if they seem way off to you. I finally just decided to take what I knew of them and add in a little of how I would behave into that equation. Okay, a lot of how I would behave. I figure the story is AU, so I could alter them a little or a lot to make this work. Spencer in particular is very OOC in this, but I don't think I could have written her anyway else that would have been to my liking. Aiden also has some anger here, but you can't really blame him. Besides, he was still a gentleman in the end.

What I really wanted more than anything in this chapter was to convey the lasting friendship between them, even though he is mad at her right now. I think the biggest thing that showed that was not only his driving her home in the end, but the pause they took to acknowledge Aiden's analogy earlier (definitely something I would do).

Sorry about his long-ass post chapter note, but I just felt the need to explain it all.

Please review with frozen Cool Whip which I just discovered tastes like ice cream but with significantly fewer calories on top! Oh, and hot girls!


	14. Not Good Enough for the Truth in Cliche

**Note: **I'm sorry. You know this. It honestly will probably be a while before my next update. I'm a busy person.

On a separate note, to the person who left a review for chapter 11 as Anonymous: I was going to truly take in whatever criticisms you had to say and think about them, but then you had to go and say "bash." No, you don't _have_ to bash. You _want _to. There is a difference. No one has to bash. Also, I'm not trying to portray Spencer as the good girl who loses her virginity to the perfect guy. I'm trying to portray Spencer as a confused girl who loses her virginity for all the wrong reasons, but still to a good guy. There is a big, big difference. For future reference, if you want someone to take your criticisms seriously, don't _bash_ them. Particularly, don't bash them and act like it was something you_ had _to do.

Now, onto my _lovely_ reviewers.

prissy020304: Why thank you. I was really nervous about this one. I'm glad you liked it. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: My friend! I'm glad I could make your day better, even though that was a while ago. Yeah, I couldn't let Aiden just leave her there and I've had to actually break up with someone who I do love, but am not in love with, but he was in love with me. It's hard. You just don't want to hurt them, but in the end, it's for the best. I did not do what Spencer did and sleep with him before, FYI. Just thought that should be clear. Spashley will come soon enough. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: I know it's not soon (it never is) but here's another chapter. Don't feel bad about Spencer ending it with Aiden. We all wanted it. You're not alone. (insert smiley face here)

Movies7Too: Hooray for Harry Potter! And Aiden is a good guy. I could never not make him a gentleman. I'm glad that is appreciated. I know some good guys like him. It is nice. (insert smiley face here)

McrFreak1991: I know it really sucks for Aiden, but whether it's shown in the story or not, he'll bounce back (I say this like he's a real person, I know), he always does. And yes, it's high time that Spencer did what she needed to do for herself. (insert smiley face here)

sggerino1: I'm glad I brought out empathy for Aiden. A lot of people don't like him, something I never understood, so I like it when people who normally don't feel something for him besides hatred, soften up to him. I'm sorry if you thought it ended on a strange point. Sometimes that's my weirdness in my writing. It'll probably happen again. To be honest I think this chapter ends a little strangely, but I think the story calls for it. Also, I never meant to make it seem like sex with Aiden was torture for Spencer. She had sex because she wanted to. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear. Thank you for your review! I think this was your first, so yay! (insert smiley face here)

Okay, now onto the story.

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN: **_**Not Good Enough for the Truth in Cliché **_

Aiden didn't show up for the last few days of school before summer break that for some reason Greenhill insisted on having even though everyone was done with finals. This was nothing extraordinary considering a lot of students didn't bother to show up to class after exams, but Spencer knew that had she not broken up with him, Aiden would be there.

Kyla went and actually attended her classes and Ashley and Carmen obviously didn't show up. Spencer, along with Glen, had begged their parent's each morning to not make them go, and even Clay, ever the good student, hadn't looked too thrilled about it, but it was to no avail. Spencer showed up each of those last few days of school and spent almost the entire day in Nurse Julie's office.

She told the nurse everything.

Well, she left out the parts that involved nudity, but other then that, she told the nurse everything.

The nurse had been surprised that Spencer had broken it off with Aiden. Despite her troubles over her feelings with Ashley, she thought that Spencer really had loved the boy. Of course she was right; Spencer did love Aiden. She just wasn't _in _love with him.

Nurse Julie then felt the need to know if Spencer had any intentions with Ashley. The blonde had hesitated before saying no. She hadn't been lying, but she also hadn't been prepared for the question or considered what her single status might mean for her and the brunette. She knew Ashley liked her, but Ashley didn't know those feelings might be returned, and there was the California girl's romance-type-thing with Brendon and Aiden's feelings to consider. All in all, it looked like anything that might be with her and Ashley was not the best option. Besides, Ashley's crush on her had to be fading now that she had a quasi-relationship, and her own confusion would surely dissipate. Hell, it might have been the pressure of her relationship with Aiden that made her think she liked Ashley in the first place!

Yup, Spencer and Ashley were going nowhere.

And on the last day of school before Spencer left the nurses office to truly begin her summer break, she made that painfully clear to Nurse Julie.

The nurse just smiled and nodded, but she couldn't help but think of that old Shakespeare quote from Hamlet….

**XXX**

Ashley and Carmen had a very steady rhythm going which began in the sort of accidentally-on-purpose-we're-both-thinking-the-same-thing-and-we-know-it type of situation where only a group of people who are always on the exact same page at the exact same time could pull off something that requires that level of synchronization.

_DING DONG! KNOCK!_

_DING DONG! KNOCK!_

_DING DONG! KNOCK!_

Kyla was impressed at how long the two kept up the pace on Aiden's doorbell and knocker, but more so annoyed with having to listen to it. If Aiden hadn't opened the door by now to at least yell at them to shut up, then he probably wasn't going to.

"Forget it, y'all. He doesn't wanna talk about it yet," Kyla said, ready to leave.

She wasn't even sure why she was there at all. Sure, she and Aiden had become closer friends in the past few months, but this seemed like the kind of thing that should be left up to the _best_ friends.

"We're not going anywhere until he talks to us," Carmen said, somehow managing to keep up the sound effects she had going with Ashley.

"He and Spencer can't just break up and then not expect to talk about it," Ashley explained.

"They didn't just break up. She dumped him," Kyla corrected.

"Which is even worse! He has to talk about it!" Ashley exclaimed.

Aiden had been ignoring Ashley and Carmen's calls since Spencer broke up with him and after three days of trying to give him his space, the two decided to just go to his house and not leave until he spoke to them, dragging Kyla with them despite her claiming that 'the last person Aiden cares about seeing right now is me.'

His parents were still staying away from home to avoid each other so there was no one to answer the door but him.

While the three had tried to get the explanation out of Aiden first, Spencer had already provided the crucial details of what happened, but thought it best that the full story be told by Aiden if he wished to tell it. It wasn't that it was anything awful, but it was personal, and Spencer didn't want to say anything that her ex-boyfriend might not want them to know.

When they had been with Spencer, Ashley had kept quiet and let Carmen, with occasional interjections from Kyla, do all the talking, which was pretty easy. Carmen would never shut up if given the opportunity.

The California girl was still harboring feelings for the blonde, despite her not-really-a-relationship with Brendon and if she had been in an alternate universe where the code of ex's and friends didn't apply, she probably would have pursued her, especially knowing that she wasn't 'unbendable.' But in this universe, that code was blaringly bright CAUTION tape with very defined lines and limits that was secured neatly around the perimeter of this entire situation and the only way to get past this tape was a lot of time and a good long talk.

So Ashley kept her mouth shut, not sure that anything she had to say would be of any value, while Spencer, Carmen, and Kyla spoke about the break up and the blonde and her sister noticed, but left it alone. The curly haired brunette couldn't help but think during that time though, while sneaking glances at the object of her semi-secret affection, she could definitely spare some time to wait for the tape to fade.

They still had Aiden to talk to though, and he could be as stubborn as he wanted, but he could never beat Ashley and Carmen in an ox-imitating contest.

"Seriously guys, it's starting to get dark," Kyla informed her deranged stepsister and friend.

The constant rhythm of the doorbell and knocker had since grown tiresome and now the two were just banging on the door with both of their fists and occasionally yelling out the name of the boy inside.

Despite her wanting to leave, Kyla couldn't help but admire the two girls standing on Aiden's doorstep. _This is friendship. _

Finally, when the girl who didn't want to be there was considering that walking all the way home was less of a crazy and dangerous idea than a very plausible option, the front door opened.

Aiden didn't look too pleased.

**XXX**

"I really thought you two were meant to be together," Carmen said to the tall boy.

"Yeah. Me, too," he responded sadly.

Aiden, Ashley, Carmen, and Kyla all sat in the boy's living room where they had been for about half an hour listening to him talk about 'the end of the greatest thing that ever happened to me.' If he hadn't been so upset, Aiden would have scoffed at himself for his own dramatics. Still, that's how he felt.

"I'm guessing you haven't talked to her," Ashley said, breaking the short silence that came after Aiden's sad admission.

"She called once. Didn't leave a message. She knows I don't want to talk to her right now." The green-eyed boy looked to his friends. "Y'all have talked to her, right?"

"Yeah," Carmen answered.

"She only gave us the bullet points though," Ashley clarified. "She thought you should tell the whole story."

Aiden nodded. That sounded like Spencer.

"Did she seem upset at all?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but not 'I want him back' upset," Carmen said.

"It was like, 'I never wanted to hurt him' upset." Ashley felt that detail was important, as well as this next one. "She misses you. She may not want to be with you anymore, but she still wants to be friends with you."

"I miss her, too. And I do still wanna be friends with her. I just need to know that I can see her and not wanna give her anything she could possibly ask for to be with me. I need to get out of the habit of being in love with her. Then we can be friends. Being out of each other's lives is not an option and she knows that, too." Aiden was adamant about this, and he knew he was right.

"I don't get that," Kyla finally spoke, although she honestly didn't mean to express this out loud and blushed when she realized she had.

"Get what?"

"Um…how you two always know what you're thinking or feeling. I mean, even Thing One and Thing Two over here," she indicated to Ashley and Carmen who were both torn between scowling and taking it as a compliment as well as trying to figure out which one of them was Thing One, "who might as well be twins don't seem to be as connected as you and Spencer."

Aiden could have told them all that it was just a part of being fated for each other, but knew they wouldn't understand even if they did believe it. "We just…are."

The three girls didn't question it any further.

**XXX**

Two days later, Spencer quite literally lunged onto her bed to reach her phone on the nightstand when she heard that particular ring tone.

"Please don't ever not talk to me for that long ever again," she said, half demanding, half pleading.

"_I won't,"_ Aiden spoke assuredly. _"I promise." _

"Good. Come pick me up?"

"_On my way." _Spencer could hear the sound of keys jingling through the phone.

"See you soon."

"_See you soon." _

The blonde waited to hear the click of him ending the call before she did the same and then walked to her closet to get dressed. She briefly pondered taking a quick shower, but decided she didn't have time, nor that she cared any considerable amount about her hygiene at the moment. Semi-clean would do just fine.

After quickly texting her father who was at work that she was going out and informing her brothers who were hibernating in their rooms, she waited on her front porch impatiently for the Chevy Tahoe to appear on her street.

Two wrong Tahoe's later (because this _is_ Texas), the right one finally pulled up to the curb and Spencer did not hesitate to walk to it, even as Aiden got out and closed the distance between them.

There was no 'what now?' moment or an awkward silence.

Spencer reached her arms around Aiden's waist and the tall boy wrapped his own about her shoulders and the hug they shared was exactly what they both needed.

Resting her head on his chest just as she always had, Spencer spoke. "You're my best friend."

"I know," Aiden said. "You're mine, too."

After the sentimental moment was over, the two climbed into the truck and picked up some burger's from _Goff's_ before heading to White Rock Lake.

The food was mostly gone before the two started really talking.

"I'm still in love with you," Aiden began, "and I don't see that changing any time soon."

Spencer had no response.

"I guess it'll just take time," the boy concluded.

"You promised we would never go a long time without talking to each other," Spencer reminded him.

"I know that. I'm not saying we won't talk to each other and hang out. It'll just be…hard. For a while it'll be hard."

"So you don't…I mean, you don't _wanna _talk to me?" Spencer was nervous.

"No, I do. You know I do," Aiden assured her.

"But it would be easier to…well, to…you know…if you didn't?"

"Get over you?"

"…yeah."

The green-eyed boy took a deep breath before speaking. "No. Not talking to you wouldn't make anything easier."

"But talking to me is hard?"

The blonde girl wasn't sure how many times she was going to say a statement as a question, but her words just kept coming out that way.

"It's not so much that it's hard _talking _to you. It's hard talking to you, seeing you, and knowing that you don't feel the same way about me that I feel about you."

"Oh."

"I promised myself that I wasn't gonna ask if you're sure about this. About us…not…being together." Aiden wasn't exactly sure about how to word his thoughts. "Your feelings, I mean. How…how you feel….about me. I'm not supposed to ask. But I want to."

"Please don't. You're not gonna like the answer."

The boy nodded. "Okay."

A few minutes passed before Spencer spoke.

"Is there anything else?"

"If there's anyone you like, like, more than a friend, I don't wanna know. Eventually we can talk about that stuff, but not now. Not while I'm still in love with you." Aiden figured this was an important rule.

Ashley made a lingering appearance in Spencer's mind.

"Got it." The blonde confirmed.

"And if you start dating someone…"

"Hide it?"

"No, no. That's not fair. You shouldn't have to hide it. No hiding, just…don't, you know. If I'm there just…I don't know. Fuck. Just keep it to a minimum. No one tells me you're together and I can just pretend like you're not."

"Okay," Spencer quickly agreed.

"That's awful. You shouldn't have to do that."

"I will if you want me to."

"No, don't. I shouldn't have even asked that. I'll deal with it. I only request that there's no making out in front of me."

"Deal," the blonde agreed, and then hesitated before adding, "but I doubt that's gonna be a problem any time soon." She wasn't sure if that was the truth or not. Ashley was still on her mind. She supposed she would make it the truth though. Aiden deserved better than that. Besides, she'd been so insistent with Nurse Julie about it.

"Good, good." Aiden looked visibly relaxed by this and Spencer knew it was the right thing to say.

"Anything else?" Spencer asked.

Aiden took a moment to study Spencer's face. She was a good person and he was glad that even though their relationship wasn't exactly what he wanted it to be, that they were friends. Best friends.

"That's it."

"Cool."

"Now what?"

The was a small pause before Spencer asked, "Can I drive your car?"

"Hell no! You don't even have a license!"

There was no way Aiden was letting Spencer drive his baby.

"I should, but my mom's making me wait until I'm 17 to get it. I know how to drive though!"

"Even if you had a license you wouldn't be driving my car!"

"Why not?"

"No one drives my car but me," Aiden stated with certainty and he meant it.

Spencer pouted, but said, "Fine. Be that way."

"Oh, I will," the tall boy assured her.

Aiden laughed and wrapped the blonde in a hug while the two stood up and made their way to the Tahoe that was to be driven by him and him only, tossing their garbage in the trash can on the way, Spencer still pouting.

**XXX**

"What's up bitches? Work everything out?" Carmen asked oh so politely when she opened the door to the Davies Estate to Spencer and Aiden.

The ex-couple rolled their eyes and walked into the mansion.

"Yeah. We're good," Spencer answered before quickly looking to Aiden, almost for assurance.

"We are," he agreed.

"Hey guys," Ashley greeted them when the three sat down in front of the large television she was watching. She eyed Spencer and Aiden a little, catching herself when her gaze lingered on Spencer. "Everything cool?"

"Yes," the green-eyed boy said, clearly annoyed.

"Did you guys think we wouldn't be okay?" Spencer asked.

"We just wanted to be sure. Jeez, sorry for caring," Ashley responded.

"It's all in the past," Carmen said, still trying to find a way to spread out as much as possible in the large armchair she was occupying.

"Exactly," Aiden said, Spencer nodding along with him.

"Cool. Now everyone shut up. There's an SVU marathon on USA," Ashley informed her friends who promptly focused on Casey Novak arguing with Elliot Stabler over some pedophiles plea bargain while Olivia Benson tried to calm them both down.

"Hey, where's Kyla?" Spencer asked after a few minutes.

If Ashley hadn't seen this episode five times before, she would have been mad at Spencer for talking. Also, if it had been anyone but Spencer who had spoken.

"She's with Jeremy," Ashley answered.

Spencer just nodded, but a moment later Carmen was up and on her feet.

"Where are you going?" Aiden asked.

"Kyla's with Jeremy. It makes me wanna see Hannah," the black-haired girl responded simply.

"You always wanna see Hannah," Ashley retorted.

Carmen stuck her tongue out at her friend before pulling out her cell phone to call her girlfriend while making her way to the door. "See y'all later!"

The three people remaining in front of the television responded with a collection of grunts and words that sounded only vaguely like 'goodbye' before Carmen was out the door and in her car, on her way to Hannah's house.

After Carmen was gone, Aiden took the opportunity to sit in the armchair she had vacated, which was easily one of the most comfortable places to sit in the mansion, while Spencer and Ashley sat on opposite sides of the couch.

"Doesn't Kyla with Jeremy and Carmen with Hannah make you wanna see Brendon?" Spencer asked Ashley, although for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. She didn't like Brendon.

"Nah. I saw him yesterday. Besides, we aren't really together like that," the California native responded. "Now shhh. Watch the pretty people solve crimes." The last thing Ashley wanted to talk about with Spencer was Brendon.

Spencer shook her head a little at Ashley weirdness, but stayed quiet and watched the show. It was a charming weirdness.

After it had been silent except for the characters on SVU speaking for a while, Spencer and Aiden managed to glance at each other at the same time. They shared a smile, the kind that best friends share, before they were pulled back to the program by Ashley shouting, "Ooh! Ooh! Watch this part! Ice-T owns his ass!"

Only Ashley could demand people be quiet while watching television, and then talk herself and have people actually listen to her.

It was just another part of her charm.

**Note:** Was that ending weird? If it is, I suppose my best defense is to say that's life. Because really, it is. Life is weird. I'll try to make it less weird though. Honestly, I just type and words come out. It's just the way my mind works. Anyway, I hope you like it, even if it's weird.

Please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	15. The Flood

**Note: **I don't know what it was, but these past few days I have been seriously motivated with this story and in lieu of working on, or even starting if I'm going to be honest, my very important term paper, I wrote this. I'm not sure if this motivation to my story combined with a lack of commitment to my education is going to last, but we'll see.

prissy020304: Yeah, Spencer and Aiden have a pretty good relationship as exes. It won't all be easy, but it's definitely a far cry from exes who hate each other. And I don't know why someone would say bash either, but thank you. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmster10: Even if you are waiting patiently, I'll try not to make it too long. As for Spencer to be the one to make the move, we shall see. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: No aliens here. Although I kind of wish I had an alien, like Invader Zim, but one who wasn't trying to destroy the world. (I don't know if you ever watched that cartoon when you were younger, but I was thinking of it earlier, thus it's inclusion in this blurb. I mean, we are talking about aliens, so it seems appropriate.) That sucks about your friend going through that. And yes! Tell her to read my story. I like it when people read my stories! I'm glad you think this is worth wait. And I hope everything is going well in your life, too! (insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: So not weird? Good. That makes me feel better. I know it took forever. I'm sorry I kept you waiting, but I am glad that you like it enough to wait. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: **_**The Flood**_

Spencer took a good long look at the girl adjacent to her, searching for anything that could possibly be wrong with her, and drawing a blank. She was kind, smart, talented, pretty, and funny. Who wouldn't like a girl like that?

No one, that's who.

Guys should be fawning all over Chelsea.

Actually, they kind of were. It was not uncommon to see boys open doors for her, offer to carry her books, lay the charm on thick, or get flustered and nervous all in Chelsea's presence. She's the girl you can take home to your mother, and there's no shortage of guys who want that.

Yep, any guy would be lucky to land Chelsea.

Unfortunately for them, she only had eyes for one guy, and he was currently sitting at the Carlin kitchen table completely immersed in a game of chess. And losing.

"Check," Sean said with a sly smile while removing one of his opponent's bishops from the board.

Sitting opposite him, Clay was starting to sweat. He lost to Sean in chess all the time, but this time Chelsea was there and he was dying to impress her. Unfortunately for him, so was Sean, and he wasn't the Captain of the Chess Team for nothing.

Sean actually knew that he didn't have a shot with Chelsea. Even if she hadn't been interested in Clay, she saw him as a friend and nothing more. Still, while a part of him thought he should let Clay win while the object of both of their affections watched, he decided it didn't matter. Clay had Chelsea's interest and losing a game of chess wasn't going to change that, so he might as well win, if not even to impress his crush, then simply for the sake of winning. Besides, Spencer had been so hard pressed to believe that her brother could actually lose in a game of chess; Sean might as well take the opportunity to impress another pretty girl. There was no intention behind it, but who didn't enjoy the admiration of cute girls?

After much deliberation, Clay made the choice to block his king rather then move it. Three turns later, Sean declared 'checkmate' with triumph.

Spencer yelled 'no way!' before announcing Sean the Master of Chess.

Chelsea congratulated the winner before saying 'aw' and rubbing Clay's back.

Spencer and Sean saw this interaction and shared a look before they smiled and rolled their eyes. _What the hell was Clay waiting for? _

"Hey." Everyone's attention was turned to Glen who popped his head into the kitchen with Madison behind him. "We're going to a movie. Anyone wanna come?"

Madison didn't look too thrilled with Glen's invitation and was clearly relieved when everyone said no.

"Alright." Glen shrugged. "See ya."

The couple left and moments later they could hear the door opening and then closing.

"I know I've known her my whole life, but man, even when she does nothing, I can't stand Madison," Sean said while setting up the board again.

"I know! You can tell she wants to be a bitch about everything, but instead she does that fake niceness, which is even worse. And it's like she thinks she's the nicest person in the world and she walks around like she's the chosen one or something," Spencer blurts out almost too fast for her brain to comprehend.

The three other people in the kitchen were left a little shocked by the blonde's outburst.

"I thought you liked Madison?" Clay questioned.

"No. I tolerate her for Glen's sake," Spencer said a little quieter this time, a small blush coating her cheeks. She had been so quick to agree with Sean because she knew exactly what he meant when he said 'even when she does nothing' that everything else just sort of came tumbling out.

"Good, 'cus I can't stand her either," Clay said, looking a little relieved.

"She's not _that_ bad," Chelsea interjected, always one to think the best of people. Although in this situation it was more like playing the devil's advocate. It only took a pointed stare from everyone else for her to concede. "Okay, so maybe she is. I think it's that fakeness, like you said, Spencer. She won't necessarily say anything rude per say, but she has that….vibe."

"Exactly," Spencer agreed, Clay and Sean nodding their heads.

The blonde girl looked between Clay and Chelsea, and she knew that Clay would give her hell for it later, but she just couldn't resist.

"At least I know one of my brothers would never date someone like that. He'd date someone nice," Spencer hinted, smile splashed across her face while her brother glared at her and the nice girl he could be dating let her eyes roam around the room looking at anything but the boy next to her.

Sean caught on and decided to join in. After all, _someone_ should be dating Chelsea.

"Yeah, Clay. You'd date a cool chick, right?" the Master of Chess egged his friend on.

Desperate to get the attention off of himself, Clay said, "Whatever. Are we gonna play or not?" He punctuated this by moving one of his pawns out, starting the game.

"Lookin' to get your ass kicked again? Alright." Sean rubbed his hands together before making a move as well.

Spencer really didn't want to watch them play chess again, so she stood up to leave with a small 'later,' planning on heading to her room and calling Ashley and Carmen to see what they were up to. Aiden was spending time with his family while his grandmother was in town visiting and he had complained to her on the phone last night that his parents were pretending to get along while she was there. They had also been texting a little throughout the day and she knew that he was pretty much bound to family time.

The blonde was out of the kitchen and nearly to the steps when she felt a hand on her arm and turned around to see Chelsea.

"Um, can I ask you something?" She asked Spencer.

"Sure."

"Do you know if, um, if Clay likes me?" Chelsea wiped her palms on her jeans, clearly nervous.

The Ohio native smiled. "Yeah, he does. He's just too stupid to ask you out. You either have to give him time or do it yourself."

"Oh. Okay then." Apparently that was all she needed to hear because she just gave a small smile and went back into the kitchen.

Spencer smirked and headed up to her room to call her friends.

**XXX**

Six teenagers all crowded around the two tiny tables pushed together at the far side of the restaurant/drug store. The Highland Park Pharmacy wasn't much to look at, but the food was excellent and the waitresses were almost all women who had been working there since the 70's, remembered the familiar faces, and called everyone 'hon' or 'sweetie.'

The lunchtime rush was over so there was no wait, but they had taken the last remaining table and the counter only had two seats available so the small room was still pretty crowded and the group of friends didn't have a lot of wiggle room.

Carmen and Hannah's chairs were so close the metal legs were crossing over each other, much like the girls own legs, Kyla was actually sitting in Jeremy's lap, and Spencer was pressed between Ashley and the large divider in the middle of the room that was really just a waste of space.

The kids all spoke with several different conversations going on at once, all of them talking over each other while they sipped on their malts, shakes, and floats, waiting for their grilled cheeses with extra pickles to be brought to them.

It was Spencer's first time eating there and when she had tried to pick up one of the menus that rested on its side against the wall, Ashley had snatched it away from her and told her she was getting a grilled cheese with extra pickles. The Ohio native had looked to the four other people around her and they all nodded, their reason being 'that's just what you get at the Pharmacy.' Spencer consented, figuring it was code for some special kind of meal and as long as she could get a chocolate malt, which turned out to be the best malt she'd ever had, she didn't care.

When the food came with a 'here you go, hon' or 'comin' atcha, sweetie,' for each of them, the blonde looked at her plate and saw….a grilled cheese next to a pile of sliced pickles crammed onto a tiny plate. Apparently it wasn't code for anything.

Her friends immediately started in on their food with Carmen eating all the pickles first and Jeremy inhaling his sandwich and ordering another, and when Spencer took her first bite, she understood why.

How something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich could taste so good, she would never know, but it was perfect. Even the pickles were amazing and they looked like they probably just came from a jar.

"Good?" Ashley asked with a raised brow and a smirk, her face only inches from Spencer's due to their limited space.

"Better than good. Awesome," the blonde girl responded, smiling right back at her friend who made her not mind the lack of breathing room afforded to them by the tiny eating establishment.

Jeremy was busy receiving his second grilled cheese and had Kyla in his lap, blocking a good bit of his view, so he was the only one at the table who didn't notice the small moment shared by the blonde and brunette. Hannah didn't know enough about them to draw any real conclusions from it, Kyla knew exactly what was going on and hoped that Aiden would get over Spencer quickly, and Carmen thought that she definitely needed to have a talk with her best friend soon.

**XXX**

"I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in myself. I'm also a tad bit offended."

Carmen was known to on occasion skip the beginning of a conversation and start right in the middle of it, so Ashley was entirely unfazed when her best friend just started talking while they floated in her pool.

"Elaborate," the curly-haired girl requested, keeping her eyes closed and her head back against the water.

"You and Spencer."

_That_ got her to open her eyes. She immediately squinted from the sun beating down right on top of her before closing them again.

"W-what about me and Spencer?" She decided to play dumb, but had no idea why. There was no way this conversation was ending without Carmen getting her answers.

"Are you the reason she broke up with Aiden?"

Ashley sighed and submerged her legs in the water until she was floating upright in the deep end of the pool. Taking a deep breath, she let her body plunge into the water until she was sitting on the pool floor. She opened her eyes, despite the sting of the chlorine and looked above her to see Carmen still floating at the surface. Closing her eyes again, she quickly processed what she was about to tell her best friend. Full disclosure except for the kiss. That wouldn't be coming out for a while, if ever.

The California girl pressed the soles of feet against the pool floor and pushed up, forcing her body to the surface. When her head emerged from the water, Carmen was lifting herself out of the pool and sitting down on the edge, her legs dipped in the water. Ashley followed suit and when they sat side by side, legs lightly making waves and hands gripping the concrete ledge they sat on, she spoke.

"As far as I know, Spencer broke up with Aiden because she's not in love with him, just like she told us. I do like her though. A lot. More and more each time I see her," Ashley confessed.

"Does anyone else know? Aside from Nurse Julie?" Carmen asked, knowing her friend divulged pretty much anything and everything to the nurse.

"Kyla…and Spencer."

"You've told Spencer you like her?"

"Yeah, but by now she prob'ly thinks I'm over it. Brendon and everything."

"And you told Kyla, but not me?" Carmen couldn't keep the hurt out of her voice. Obviously as stepsisters, there was a bond between Ashley and Kyla that differed from their own, but didn't 'best friends' mean anything?

"I had planned to tell you but I was hoping to be over her when I did and Kyla got it out of me when I was upset."

The black-haired girl nodded. "I'm surprised I didn't see it before. And it seems so totally obvious now. Has she said that she likes you?"

"She doesn't."

Carmen snorted. "You're joking, right?"

"She told me she didn't think of me like that."

"When?"

"When I told her how I felt."

"Then she was either lying, or something changed between then and now."

"And how would you know that?"

"Oh, come on! That _moment _you two had yesterday? That was totally mutual."

"What moment?"

"At the Pharmacy! You two had a moment. You were lookin' at each other and you had a _moment_. I saw it. We all saw it."

"There was no moment," Ashley insisted.

"Oh, there totally was," a voice said from behind them.

The girls looked back and saw Kyla approaching them. She pulled off her shoes and socks and rolled up her jeans to her knees before sitting down next to her sister, not caring about the water that pooled there, soaking into the denim.

"I thought you were at the homeless shelter," Ashley said.

"I was, but then I left. That's what people do when they go to places they don't live. They leave." A pointed glare was sent towards Carmen, but it was in jest and the implication went unnoticed anyway. "Now back to you. There was a moment. We have witnesses. Deal with it."

"Seriously," Carmen agreed. "Besides, isn't that a good thing? Her liking you back?"

"Do we actually know that she likes me back? Like for a fact? Has she told you?" Ashley questioned with a glance to her best friend and sister.

Carmen just shook her head while Kyla said, "She didn't tell me, but I know."

"How?" the curly-haired girl asked.

"I could tell yesterday when you had The Moment."

"Oh my god! Being witness to _The Moment_ does not qualify as having knowledge that Spencer likes me!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Carmen said, waving her hands. "We don't know for sure that Spencer likes you….but if she does…?"

Ashley sighed and pushed herself back into the pool and sunk to the bottom again.

"Hey!" Kyla yelled when her pants got even more wet, but she was ignored.

When the girl in the pool finally came back up to the surface, she only said one word.

"Aiden."

**XXX**

Spencer was seriously considering calling Nurse Julie. There wasn't anyone else she could think of who she could talk to about this. This being Ashley. Specifically, Ashley and that thing that happened at the Pharmacy. That…moment.

Aiden: Obviously not.

Carmen: No. You don't talk to somebody's best friend about said somebody. Not with something like this.

Kyla: Considered, but no. A sister in this situation is no better than a best friend.

Ashley: Well that would defeat the entire purpose, wouldn't it?

So what options did that leave her?

If she had been in school she would have gone to the nurse in two seconds. Calling her was different though. Sure, she had said 'you can always call me,' but she said that to everyone, and while she probably did mean it - in fact, she definitely did - that didn't mean you actually did it. That was just weird.

Spencer sighed and fell face first onto her bed.

Who ever thought she'd be upset about it being summer break? Not her.

"Are you okay?"

Spencer looked up and saw Chelsea standing just outside her open door, hesitantly leaning forward like she wasn't sure she should be there.

Chelsea and Sean were at her house all the time. With Clay it was pretty much their designated place to hang out, like the Davies Estate was for Spencer's own little circle of friends.

"I don't mean to pry or anything," Chelsea continued. "I was just walking back to Clay's room and I saw you fall onto your bed and you look a little upset. I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone."

"No, no, it's okay," Spencer said, stopping the other girl from leaving. "I just…"

"Do you wanna talk about it? I know we don't know each other that well, but…I mean…."

If Chelsea hadn't asked Spencer if her brother liked her the other day, she probably would have said no, but she was nice and had divulged a little something about herself, so it just made sense for Spencer to do the same. Besides, she _did_ need to talk to someone.

Spencer didn't actually say 'yes, I want to talk about it,' but Chelsea could see the look on her face, so she just slipped inside the room and closed door, assuming correctly that the following conversation called for privacy. The blonde sat up in the middle of her bed, crossing her legs and Chelsea sat on the end of it, her body turned inward to face the other girl.

"What's up?" Chelsea asked.

Spencer hesitated before speaking. "You know Ashley Davies, right?"

"Yeah. Aren't you two friends?"

"Yeah, we are."

There was a pause.

"What about her?" Chelsea prodded.

Spencer spoke hesitantly at first, not sure how much she was actually willing to tell, but soon she was talking without thinking and spilling her heart out. She barely managed to stop herself from telling Chelsea about the kiss she had shared with the California girl. That stayed between her and Ashley.

Everything else was out. Ashley saying she liked her. Spencer assuming those feelings were gone because of Brendon. Spencer realizing she may have feelings for Ashley. Spencer _knowing_ she has feelings for Ashley. The Moment.

Aiden was spoken about, too. Loving him and not _falling_ in love with him. Not feeling in control.

Then there was more about fuzzy-Ashley-feelings.

When Spencer finally finished she noticed that Chelsea looked a little overwhelmed, but she stayed composed.

There isn't exactly a lot of advice one could give for this kind of situation. You like someone; you know that this person, at least at one point but maybe not anymore, liked you; there's an ex you don't want to hurt. There's only two basic options: go for it or don't. Spencer knew that. She wasn't looking for advice. She just needed to vent to someone who would sympathize.

Apparently Chelsea was a good choice for this. She didn't try to offer bogus advice. She didn't make light of the situation or make it into a bigger deal than it was. She didn't even question Spencer's sexuality, which the blonde was thankful for because she had no idea what she would have said. She probably assumed she was gay, but that didn't really bother Spencer. It's not like she could have disputed it at this point. Besides that, sexuality wasn't really a concern of hers.

All Chelsea said was, "Wow. I'm sorry. That sucks."

Sure she was stating the obvious, but it was all she could really say and all Spencer really needed to hear. Her follow up was much appreciated though.

"On the bright side, it does sound like Ashley still likes you, even if she is hanging out with Brendon."

Spencer smiled at this. Yeah, maybe she may not be able to do anything about it. That was a constantly developing and ever-changing issue. But it's still nice to think that despite whatever Ashley was doing with Brendon, her feelings may not be one-sided. The curly-haired girl had confessed to liking her at one point, and yes she said she would get over her, but that didn't mean it actually happened.

At least, Spencer hoped it hadn't happened.

**Note: **Your reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	16. Cellar Door

**Note: **Not fast, but a quicker update than usual, right? Papers, finals, you know the deal. I've got all that, but I've done a better job of managing my time lately so I was able to work on this more often than usual this past month.

In regard to the test chapter I had up before, I'm sorry about that. There was something wrong with my account and I needed to update the story to see the full extent of the problem.

anNtidote: Yeah, Spencer and Aiden have to be close. I always liked them as friends in the show. Hearing that something is realistic is to me always one of the best compliments I can get. No matter what the story is about, I always want the dialogue to be something someone would actually say and the way they would say it in that situation, so thank you. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: I ate an ice cream bar after I read your review. I didn't have a girl with me, but it was still good. They may be cold, but they make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, so thank you my friend. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: Spencer is definitely someone who needs to talk about things, so while she did it before, there was new stuff going on, so it had to be done again. Glad you liked it. The moment you're waiting for is fast approaching. I'm sure you've already done those presentations by now, but I hope they went well. (insert smiley face here)

slushhy: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the complications. (insert smiley face here)

sterlingsuperking: Wow is good. I like wow. I also love use of the word "bloody" but I can't pull it off. I hope this continues to wow you. (insert smiley face here)

spash.: Sorry! Here's that chapter and thanks. (insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: Tests do suck, but it's all worked out now, so hopefully there are no more to come. I don't know if this is included in my strange updating, but if it's a good thing I'm all for it. I knew I wanted Spencer to talk to Chelsea at some point like she does in the show and give them some kind of special bond. Sorry about the confusion, but I offer another chapter in consolation. (insert smiley face here)

To the anonymous reviewer that feels the need to insult me: You clicked on that chapter with what I can only assume was intent to read it and saw that it wasn't a real chapter, which for some reason, whatever it may be, bothered you enough to leave a hateful review. Isn't that, in your own special way, whining about that not being a real chapter? I mean, it was a complaint on the grounds that it wasn't an actual chapter. As for the bit about my ego, your review was an attempt to feed yours, so that was a fairly hypocritical insult. Also, by reading this, you're confirming that you care enough about either this story, or what I have to say, to look at what I am posting. Whatever insults you may fling at me in response, I'm still right.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: **_**Cellar Door**_

"I know she's my grandma and all, but man, I can't wait until she's gone," Aiden said as he approached his friends in front of the _GAP_ in the Galleria mall after managing to slip away from his house while his parents participated in the verbal equivalent of a knock-down-drag-out, having kept it in for days, and his grandmother finally fell asleep while telling her grandson that he shouldn't be so focused on basketball because it's 'never gonna get you anywhere' for probably the billionth time in his life.

"You want her to die?!" Carmen exclaimed, drawing some less than positive attention to herself and her friends.

"What? No!" Aiden looked around a little frantically at all the people staring at them. "No! I don't want her to die!" he assured them before looking back at Carmen. "I can't wait until she _leaves_ you idiot. She goes back to Florida in two days."

"Oh." Carmen looked at all the people staring at her and was tempted to make an even bigger ass out of herself because, you know, why not? But Hannah who stood next to her gripped her arm and pulled her away, letting Spencer and Aiden follow.

The four of them wandered down to another level of the giant mall, not really having any particular reason for being there other then to have somewhere to be.

Kyla was off with Jeremy and some of his friends and Ashley was with Brendon.

Spencer was glad that she was finally seeing her best friend, but this happiness was diluted by the knowledge that Ashley was with Brendon. She really didn't like Brendon. She had never gotten around to thinking of an exact reason for why she didn't like him, simply accepting to herself that it was because of the little thing he had going with Ashley and nothing about him personally.

Apparently her limit on happiness had shown.

"Everything okay?" Aiden whispered to her as they walked, nudging her with his elbow playfully.

"Yeah, I'm good," she assured him. "I just wish Ash were here, too. I don't really like Brendon too much. I don't think he's good with Ashley." No sense in lying to him. He would have been able to tell anyway.

"Eh, he'll be leaving for college soon. And hey! How 'bout you enjoy your time spent with me. I'm like, the most amazing person ever."

"Oh please," Carmen said to their left while Hannah giggled, having heard Aiden's declaration.

Spencer rolled her eyes and shoved Aiden to the side saying 'yeah, yeah,' but accepted his arm around her shoulder with hers around his waist when he came back to her side while they continued their tour of the mall.

It wasn't a romantic hold, nor was the gesture intended in that way. It was the way two very good friends showed their platonic love for each other and, weirdly enough, it was the exact same way they had walked together when they were in a relationship.

Both of them noticed this, realizing it felt very natural and they liked that. Their relationship had changed, but somehow, stayed exactly the same.

When Spencer had been in a romantic relationship with Aiden, she had felt a loss of control in her life that she hadn't realized she had before. Breaking up with him had brought some of that control back, mostly because it was an actual act of taking control, but nothing more had really changed since then and she hadn't even thought about it, just so relieved that it was over and she still had Aiden in her life.

In this moment though, she felt it. She felt that control in full force.

Spencer had her life back. It wasn't a picture perfect love story that she was destined to live. It was confusing and difficult to handle at times and she was far from having everything figured out. But it was hers.

She knew she had Aiden as one permanent fixture in her life and that was a good feeling, but the rest was up to her.

**XXX**

It had been a while since Spencer had been to the Davies Estate when only Ashley was there. Usually Kyla or Carmen could be found somewhere around the massive property and Aiden was a regular visitor as well. Now those three were off with significant others, except for Aiden who was back with the family for – finally – the last day of his grandmother's visit.

If Ashley hadn't spent time with Brendon yesterday, she might have been with him, but instead she was with Spencer. She liked this better.

Now, Ashley actually did like Brendon. Sort of. He's the kind of guy that pre-celibacy, she would have slept with. He was cool to be around, not annoying, didn't cling, and was very good looking. The only problem was, she didn't just sleep with him. She wasn't planning on it, either. The kind of relationship they had developed was some weird, mutated result of meeting someone that probably should have just been a random hook up, but wasn't and so you spend time with this person for some reason, as if the sex will come eventually, but it never will. It's not a friendship, it's not a relationship, and it's not in-between those two things. It's the anti-one-night-stand. There's no sex, no nighttime, and no just once. It's a PG rated daytime-stand that's happening over and over again.

In other words, Ashley had no idea what the hell she was doing with this boy and he probably didn't either, but they were an ego-boost for each other, so until he went off to college when the school year started and they never spoke again, they would spend time together.

Unless someone else came along.

Someone like the blonde girl from Ohio who's watching television with her.

"You know, our country's fascination with this show is kind of sick," Spencer said.

They were watching _SVU_ again. There always seems to be a marathon of it on some channel.

"Why is it sick?" Ashley questioned.

"It's all about sex crimes. I mean do you hear what they're taking about? It's all rape and pedophilia. Why do people find this so entertaining?"

"You want me to change the channel?" Ashley picked up the remote and aimed it at the receiver.

"No!"

The brunette smirked. "See. You're just as sick as the rest of us."

"Yeah, well, it's society's fault," Spencer said with a smile, taking away all the conviction from her defense. "The media makes this stuff popular so you feel like you have to watch it, and then you get hooked."

"Puh-lease. Just admit it, Spence. You're a sicko."

"I'm not a sicko!"

"It's okay. I'm a sicko, too. We can be sickos together."

Spencer swallowed the air in her throat as a nervous reaction.

"Okay," the blonde agreed.

They both noticed the change in the atmosphere. It was no longer light and friendly. Suddenly the close proximity of where they sat together on the couch seemed to have a meaning behind it and the frequent glances they made towards one another couldn't be passed off as random flicks of the eye anymore.

The tension, sexual and/or otherwise, lasted for a few seconds until Ashley decided that flirting was the way to go. Not just because it would ease the heavy atmosphere, but also to see if Spencer would flirt back.

"So, fellow sicko, are you gonna divulge to me your perverted thoughts?" Ashley said with a sly smile. Admittedly it was a weird kind of way to flirt, but it was on topic.

Spencer's expression mirrored the brunette's.

"Maybe. Will I be hearing yours is return?"

"Oh, I'll tell you those for free."

Spencer laughed, simultaneously grabbing one of the throw pillows next to her on the couch and lightly swinging it into Ashley's face before the action was repeated on her, both girls giggling.

Tension: Gone.

Flirtation: Returned.

Hearts: Fluttering.

**XXX**

"Cannonball!"

The humongous splash of water that followed that exclamation, which was really less of a splash and more of a tsunami sized wave in relation to the pool, had all the girls, in and out of the pool, squealing.

"Aiden!" Spencer, who had been in the pool and just got up to the surface after being swept under water by the wave, yelled at the boy who treaded in the deep end, laughing at the mayhem he caused. It _was _an awesome splash, after all.

"Nice, dude," Jeremy said before jumping into the water with Kyla wrapped in his arms. She just got soaked; she might as well just go in.

When Kyla surfaced with Jeremy she pushed him while he laughed and tried to hold onto her. "Jerk!" she yelled while clearly not actually mad.

"Hey, man, be careful. If she dumps your ass I'm askin' her out," Tyler, one of Jeremy's friends from school said.

"Fuck you!" Jeremy shot back at him along with a showing of his middle finger.

"Please man, like she'd go out with you anyway," José, Jeremy's best friend interjected.

"So true," Carmen said ringing out her hair.

"What about you?" Tyler wiggled his eyebrows at the black-haired girl knowing full well he would get shot down for more reasons than her being taken.

Carmen simply scoffed at the boy while Hannah wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's waist and began to lead her away. "You're not her type," she said with a smug smirk.

"Do you have to hit on everything that moves?" José asked his friend.

"If it's got a vagina," Tyler asserted.

"Oh please. Repressed homosexuality much?" Ashley said as she walked by to the diving board.

"And deprive the ladies of my supreme sexiness? I would never do such a thing," the hormonally driven teenage boy said with faux-arrogance.

All the girls giggled at his cockiness.

"Soooooo gay!" Liz, Hannah's best friend said hoping to get a reaction out of the boy in question. Well, not so much 'in question' as 'in teasing.'

"Would you like me to prove to you how straight I am?" Tyler asked, wiggling his eyebrows again.

"I don't have to be taken or a lesbian to turn you down," Liz assured him.

"I would imagine you just have to be sane," José said laughing at his own joke.

"Please," the cocky boy said with a wave of his arm, not at all affected by the teasing. "All the ladies who dig the dick want a piece of this." He pointed to his body.

"100 percent lesbian now, thanks very much," Ashley said, earning a laugh from everyone.

Tyler didn't let his pride stay wounded for long as he catapulted himself into the pool causing an uproar similar to Aiden's.

"Okay! New rule: that's not allowed anymore," Spencer said after being pulled under water and breaking through the surface again.

Aiden quickly scrambled out of the pool and onto the diving board, giving Spencer a little grin and posing himself as if he were about to run and jump.

"Don't you dare, Aiden!" the Ohio native yelled.

The boy on the diving board made a sudden movement and Spencer bolted out of the pool causing everyone to laugh. Ashley was the closest to Spencer now that she was out of the pool, so taking the advantage of her being mid-laugh, the blonde girl shoved the curly-haired brunette into the water. Ashley barely managed to grab onto Spencer's arm before she fell in, taking her friend with her. The two emerged from the water mid-wrestling match, laughing together.

Everyone continued on with the little pool party at the Davies Estate, joking and swimming and dunking each other.

Spencer and Ashley stayed in that water laughing and wrestling with each other until they were pruned.

**XXX**

"Hey, Spence, can you help me out for a sec?" Clay asked as he stood in the doorway to the blonde's room while she lay in the middle of the bed on her stomach, occupied with her computer.

"Sure," Spencer said without looking up. She quickly finished typing a comment for one of Carmen's pictures on Facebook before pushing herself up to sit on her bed and looking at her brother.

The fact that he was only wearing a pair of boxers didn't really faze her as her brothers often wandered around the house shirtless – if you can you might as well – but they usually had at least shorts on.

"Pants are required to receive my help," Spencer informed him.

"Well that's actually kind of what I need help with," Clay said.

"Pants?"

"Clothes."

"Oh, okay. For what?"

The two walked down the hall into Clay's room and stood in front of his closet.

"I have a date with Chelsea tonight," the boy told his sister, mentally preparing himself for the squeal that he knew would result from this information.

Spencer gasped followed by thirty seconds of 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE' and a 'yay!'

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Will you help me pick out something to wear?"

"Why am I more excited than you are?" the girl asked as she began to pull back hanger after hanger to look at his nice button-up shirts, ignoring the tee shirts she knew were in the drawers.

"You're not, I just have the unfortunate side effect of nervousness to go along with it," Clay informed her.

"Where are you taking her?"

"Dinner and a movie."

"Dinner where?"

"I got reservations at Kirby's."

Spencer's jaw dropped and she stopped rifling through the shirts and turned to her brother.

"You are not taking her to Kirby's on your first date. It's way too fancy first of all, plus, when you go to a place like that you don't also go to a movie. That's mixing dress up and casual. If you wanna take her somewhere else after that it'd have to be like a play or something," Spencer explained to Clay like he was a five-year-old.

"I can't get tickets to a play now!"

"No, you can't, but that's not the point. You can't take her to Kirby's and then a movie. You shouldn't take her to Kirby's at all. Stick with the movie and pick a different place. Also, go to the movie first. That way no matter what you have something to talk about at dinner."

"But wouldn't she wanna be taken somewhere nice?"

"Yeah, but that's over-doing it." Spencer laid out a shirt on his bed and then started looking for a good pair of pants for him to wear. "Cancel your reservations; go to a movie first and if she doesn't have any preferences on what she wants to see, pick a comedy. After the movie ask her where she wants to go for dinner and on the off chance that she actually has a place in mind, take her there. She'll most likely say 'I don't care' so some safe places to take her would be like El Fenix, CPK, Snuffer's, or if you wanna push the fancy thing, Houston's, but nothing nicer than that."

The blonde chose one of the less worn in pairs of pants that her brother had and laid them next to the shirt.

"Should I be writing this down?" Clay asked, half joking half serious.

"Sorry, sorry, it's your date," Spencer said now deciding between a few different belts. "I'm just trying to help. Besides, I like Chelsea and I don't want you to screw it up."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"You made reservations at Kirby's. Over the top much? By the way, you should call them and cancel soon. It's getting late."

"Oh, right!"

Clay picked up his cell phone and found the phone number for the restaurant he had written down earlier on his desk. While he cancelled his reservations Spencer finished laying out the clothes he would wear, thankful that his Nike trainers were white with a black swoosh and went with pretty much everything because other than that, the only shoes he had were flip-flops and dress shoes and those just wouldn't do. She kicked the shoes to the foot of his bed so he would know to wear them and then went back to her room before he got off the phone, done with her job.

Clay hung up the phone and looked down to his bed at the clothes his sister had picked out for him. A long-sleeved cotton navy button-up, khaki pants with no cuffs at the bottom, and a dark brown leather belt. Perfect.

"Thanks, Spence!" he yelled out to his sister down the hall while he slipped on a short-sleeved under shirt.

"No problem!" she yelled back. "And don't tuck in the shirt!"

"Got it!"

Clay got dressed quickly and informed his dad of where he was going before running out the door with Chelsea expecting him in twenty minutes.

Spencer was back on her computer when her father knocked her doorframe to get her attention. "Hey. What do you wanna do for dinner? Your mother's working late again and Glen and Clay are gone, so it's just the two of us. Unless you have plans as well?"

The girl shook her head. She could have had plans but today felt like a do nothing day for her and she really didn't feel like going anywhere. "Pizza?"

"Sure," Arthur agreed, smiling. "I'll order it. Thick or thin crust?"

"Thin, please."

"Okay."

Half an hour later Spencer and her father were eating Pizza Hut pizza and watching television.

"Hey, Spence," Arthur began. "You're not dating Aiden anymore, right?"

"Uh, no, I'm not," Spencer answered, confused by the unexpected question. "Why?"

"Well, you just seemed to really, really like him, but I've noticed that since you two broke up, you seem…well, happier, actually."

"I do?" It's true, Spencer had been in a better mood since she finally ended things with Aiden and they became just best friends, but she didn't realize it was a noticeable difference. Of course, if anyone were going to notice something like that, it would be her father.

"Yeah. It's just surprising. It's really the opposite of what I would've expected, especially considering how much you liked him. Aiden seems like a nice kid and I've never had reason to think otherwise, but if he did anything while you were together---."

"Okay, stop right there," Spencer interrupted her dad, knowing where he was going with this. "Aiden would never hurt me. Ever."

As a social worker Arthur couldn't help but consider the worst, and while he had never actually thought that his daughter had been in an abusive relationship of any degree, he still had to ask. The look on her face and in her eyes confirmed her words.

"Alright, that's good. I just had to ask. It's my fatherly duty."

"I know, but he would never do anything like that."

"I believe you. You did like him a lot though, so I'm just wondering why breaking up with him made you happier."

The blonde sighed. She really didn't want to talk about this with her father.

"Okay, okay, I know that sigh. Complicated teenager stuff that you don't wanna talk to me about. Got it." Arthur knew when pushing a subject was worth it and when it wasn't. His daughter was fine and hadn't been hurt. That was enough.

Spencer smiled at him, glad that he knew when to back off.

"It really is complicated."

"I know. Everything feels complicated when you're going through it, and some things really are, but most of the time, if you just take a step back and look at what you're dealing with, you'll see that it's actually pretty simple."

"Thanks for the fatherly wisdom."

"Any time."

**Note:** Well? What do you think? There's a small amount of foreshadowing in this chapter and that's all I'll say. That and please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	17. It's Just Me

**Note: **I was living without reliable Internet for a while, so I wasn't able to post this earlier. But here it is now. This is an important chapter.

awe: I can't answer your question because that would take away any amount of suspense that this story has, but I won't keep you waiting too long. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: The best thing anyone can ever tell me is that my stuff is realistic, so thank you. I would love to live in a world of fairies and unicorns (that would be so epic) but we don't and Spashley doesn't either. (But seriously, that might be a new idea for a Crackfic) Ah, the Aiden and Carmen conversation. I enjoyed writing that. At least SVU is a good show, even if it can get depressing. Glad the presentations went well. You're probably already done with finals (I am, thank fucking god) so I hope those went well, too. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: I'm glad someone liked the explaining of the Ashley/Brendon relationship. I was really worried about that. I nearly took it out. Yay for people laughing! (insert smiley face here)

anNtidote: Why thank you! I like to think I'm pretty witty. (hehe, that rhymes). You feel like you're watching the show? Fuckin' epic. I think I'll go give Mr. Tom Lynch a call. (insert smiley face here)

'MyViolentDelights': I do believe you are a new reviewer. Welcome! So you got the Spencer/Aiden friendship in real life, eh? Nice. Here's the update. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: **_**It's Just Me**_

One would assume that people who participate in _real_ wrestling would hate watching the fake, drama filled wrestling found on television. If this were a true generalization, Jeremy would be the exception.

"Fuck yeah!" the blonde boy pumped his fist in the air looking intently at the match on the screen in front of him.

Kyla was next to him on the couch, looking not nearly as interested in the fighting men as her boyfriend was, but she wasn't entirely bored. Besides, he had held her purse at the Galleria while she tried on clothes the other day with minimal complaint, so the least she could do was watch wrestling with him.

That was her reason. She wasn't sure what everyone else's excuses were.

They were at Jeremy's house. He had invited everyone over specifically to watch wrestling. No one else had any interest in wrestling. Not even José and Tyler, but they practically lived at his place anyway, so they were in and out of the kitchen eating all the food and talking about MILF's. Well, Tyler was talking about them while José just grunted in agreement and stuffed more miscellaneous food in his mouth.

Carmen and Hannah shared a giant armchair together, speaking quietly to each other, smiling and giggling.

Liz sat on the floor propped up against the end of the giant 'L' shaped couch, and giving quick and witty comebacks for all of Tyler's suggestive comments towards her. She actually enjoyed the banter. It was more amusing than what they were watching on television anyway.

Ashley sat next to Spencer on the couch, closer than what was probably necessary, together making fun of all the overly muscled men on screen fighting each other.

On the other side of Spencer sat Aiden who was having the entire sport being explained to him by Jeremy during the commercial breaks and he was actually starting to get into it.

"So John Cena is the best?" Aiden asked.

"Oh, definitely. Best there ever was. Best there ever will be," Jeremy said with confidence.

An unexpected scoff was heard from the armchair and Hannah looked at Carmen quizzically.

"What was that?" She asked her girlfriend.

"He said Cena was the best," Carmen explained.

"He is," the high school wrestler asserted.

"Puh-lease. None of these guys are as good as the ones from old school WCW. Maybe, like, Eddie Guerreo, Rey Mysterio Jr., and the other guys who were actually in WCW back in the day. But these new guys are ridiculous. Now, Goldberg, Sting, Booker T, hell, even Hulk Hogan before he got crazier than he already was. Those are wrestlers."

Everyone looked at Carmen, not really sure what to do with this newfound knowledge about her knowledge of _old school _wrestling. Everyone except Ashley, of course.

"I'm so glad I didn't know you when WCW was around," the California girl said.

"You used to watch wrestling?" Hannah asked.

"Just WCW. It ended in 2001," the back-haired girl responded.

"You were like..." Aiden paused to do the math in his head. "Seven."

"Eight actually. I was pretty badass."

"Even though you did dis John Cena, you just went up serious cool points," Jeremy told Carmen.

"You went down serious cool points 'cus you like him. Anyway, I haven't really kept up with it since WCW ended."

"When you were eight," Aiden again pointed out.

"Yes."

There was an awkward pause before Tyler decided to fill it.

"So, I think Jeremy's mom is a MILF."

"Dude!" the son of said MILF yelled. "What the fuck?"

"She kinda is, man," José said for no other reason than to get a rise out of his friend. "We finally took the time to really look at that picture in the hallway and…"

"Shut up you pervs!"

More pointless conversation, or really arguing and defending mother's and MILF's, continued while Ashley's phone rang and she got up to take the call, Spencer following her with her eyes as she left the room.

For some reason, the Ohio native knew it was Brendon calling her.

This was confirmed when Ashley came back in and got Jeremy's attention away from defending his mother.

"Hey, that was Brendon. Would you guys be cool with it if I left? He wants to catch a movie," Ashley said.

Jeremy didn't care and it seemed like no one else did either. Except Spencer, but she didn't say anything.

"Alright. I'll see you guys later."

The general response everyone gave her back was something along the lines of 'yeah, you too' and she left.

Spencer didn't say anything again.

While Ashley walked to her car and drove away, out of Highland Park, she frowned. She wasn't really sure that she had wanted to leave. She would have rather stayed with Spencer and had hoped that the blonde would have said something and told her she should stay. That was probably asking too much of her though.

Spencer frowned the rest of the afternoon, not liking the empty space on the couch next to her. She wondered if she should have said something. No, that would have been unfair. Still, she really wished Ashley would stop hanging out with Brendon.

Yeah, she should make that happen.

**XXX**

Later that night Spencer and Kyla were back at the Davies Estate. All their other friends and significant others were home, but Spencer had been hoping that she could catch Ashley when she got back from hanging out with Brendon and Kyla readily accepted her company.

They had been talking easily, as friends do, before Kyla decided to switch up the topic of conversation without warning similar to what Carmen often does.

"I'm not sure why she still hangs out with Brendon either."

"Huh?"

"This afternoon, when she left to go hang out with him, I could tell you were upset. I'm not sure why she's still spending time with him."

"Oh…I…" Spencer didn't have any idea of what to say.

"It's okay. I know you like her. Carmen knows, too. We can tell," Kyla said gently.

Spencer considered denying it for a moment but decided not to bother. "How?"

"Well, we were both sure of it when we saw The Moment at the Pharmacy."

Spencer knew exactly what she was talking about.

"She, uh…she still likes me, too, right?" the blonde asked hesitantly.

"I don't really think I should give a definite answer."

"Why not?"

"It's not really my business. If Ashley wants to tell you that she likes you, then she will." Kyla gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, but Spencer could tell she let it slip on purpose.

"Thanks, Ky."

The brunette just smiled before letting out a big sigh. "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm gonna go to bed. Are you waiting here for Ashley?"

"I'd like to if that's alright."

"Okay. Just don't break anything of extreme value," Kyla said as she headed up the stairs.

"You got it. I'll stick to breaking things of moderate value," Spencer called after her.

"Perfect," the bed bound girl called from upstairs.

**XXX**

At some point in the night Spencer made her way up to Ashley's room and if she hadn't spent so much time there, becoming familiar with the space, then she never would have been able to fall asleep in there, much less on accident, but it was and she did. Or maybe it was just because the room was filled with all things Ashley and she was certainly familiar. When the California native came home, she found her blonde friend curled up asleep on her bed.

Ashley smiled at this for several reasons.

She likes the idea of coming home to Spencer.

Spencer's eyelids flutter while she sleeps and she thinks it's cute.

Spencer curls up into a little ball when she sleeps with her knees pulled up to her chest and her hands pressed together so very cliché-like under her cheek. This too is cute.

Spencer is not under the covers so it is clear she tried to wait up for her. Ashley likes this, too.

Spencer is asleep on the right side of the bed. Ashley sleeps on the left side. She's not sure if Spencer knew what side of the bed she likes to sleep on or if it was just a coincidence, but either way, the idea of them having sides of the bed makes her smile.

It was all so….domestic.

Ashley's smile got bigger.

The brunette got ready for bed as quickly and quietly as she could, with the blonde never stirring once, but the second she got under the covers, laying down next to her friend, Spencer's eyes popped open and she looked at her as if she had never been asleep at all.

"Ashley."

"Hey, sorry," Ashley whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you. Just go back to sleep. I'll drive you home in the morning."

Spencer sat up against her friend's words. "No, I need to talk to you."

The blonde rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

So fucking cute.

"Um, okay. What about?"

Spencer got out of the bed and Ashley frowned.

The blonde opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but instead let out a sigh.

"Spencer, what is it?" the brunette asked, slightly concerned.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to say this. It's not fair of me but I just need to."

"Say what? What's not fair?"

"I don't like you hanging out with Brendon."

Ashley opened and closed her mouth like a fish for a few moments. Her mind instantly went to Spencer thinking the worst of her time spent with the boy.

"I'm not sleeping with him. We're just hanging out."

"I still don't like it. I don't like him."

Ashley immediately became defensive.

A lot of things were about to be said that they had never spoken about before. Things that they both just knew, but neither had ever plucked up the courage to say. Not to each other anyway.

"What? Are you jealous? You don't have the right to be jealous. It's not like we're together or anything." The brunette's tone was bitter.

They both knew a serious conversation was coming on and possibly a small fight. One that they both felt had happened several times before. But it hadn't. They had just thought about it happening.

Spencer sighed. "You know I can't."

The sighing was contagious. "I know. You don't wanna risk losing Aiden. I get it."

The blonde shook her head. "I wouldn't lose Aiden over this. Over anything, really."

Ashley slowly stood, but she felt as if she had been catapulted up. She walked over to Spencer who stood at the foot of the bed. "But I thought that's what you were afraid of?"

"I'm not gonna lose Aiden. He just doesn't want me to be with anyone else. Well, no that's not true…well actually it probably is true, but he didn't say that. He just doesn't wanna know about it."

"He doesn't wanna know if you're ever with someone else?"

"Not forever, just for a while. And he took it back anyway 'cus he didn't think it was fair for me to have to hide a relationship."

Ashley tried to work out the meaning of what Spencer was saying in her head. This whole conversation was a total mind fuck.

"Okay, I'm confused. What_ exactly_ did Aiden say?"

"Well, technically his only rule was no making out in front of him," the blonde said so simply that Ashley had thought for sure she had misheard her.

"Could you repeat that?" the curly-haired brunette asked.

"Aiden's only rule was no making out in front of him," Spencer repeated.

Ashley thought for sure that if she looked out the window and saw the stars, that they would all be aligned.

"So you're not gonna lose Aiden; you're not banned from relationships; no making out in front of him."

Ashley had never liked rules too much, but she could follow this one if it got her what she was hoping it would: Spencer.

"Yeah."

What the hell have they been waiting for? Was it really all so simple this whole time?

Ashley took a big step to be standing right in front of Spencer, cupped her face in her hands, and kissed her.

It only lasted a few seconds. The brunette wanted to be sure that she had enough breath to get this next sentence out before, hopefully, she would be kissing Spencer again.

"Be my girlfriend."

"Wha…?"

It wasn't the quick yes-then-back-to-kissing that she had been aiming for, but for Spencer she could practice patience.

Ashley moved her hands from Spencer's face and held onto the girl's upper arms, keeping her where she was incase she wanted to move.

"Yeah, Aiden will be hurt, but he'll get over it. You know you're not gonna lose him."

"What about you? Aren't you afraid you'll lose him? He's one of your best friends," Spencer explained.

"I never worried about losing his friendship. I only thought you did. And come on, you know him better than anyone. Do you really think Aiden's the type to ditch a friend?"

"…no."

Something about the way Spencer said this had Ashley worried. She once again moved her hands, this time gliding them down the blonde's arms until she held Spencer's hands in hers.

"So then what's the real problem here?"

The Ohio native looked down at their entwined fingers "This is real."

"What do you mean?"

"Us. You and me. I mean, I could actually… You could be…"

Ashley waited for a moment to see if she would continue, and prodded her when she didn't. "Spencer, what is it? Tell me."

"I could fall in love with you. For real. Not like with Aiden. I could _fall_ in love with you and feel it as it's happening. And I would let it. I would see it and I would make that choice. Easily. I could fall in love with you, Ashley. "

Ashley bent slightly at the knees to lower her head below Spencer's so she could look the blonde in the eyes while she had her head angled down and then slowly rose up, encouraging the blonde to keep her eyes up and on her.

"Does that scare you?"

"It doesn't scare you?" Spencer had always assumed that however scared she might actually be of real love, Ashley would be ten times more terrified.

The brunette smiled a little secret smile before answering.

"Spencer, I gave up on freaking out about actually liking someone a long time ago. Isn't falling in love supposed to be the next step? I mean it is scary. I probably should be terrified from even talking about it and I'm kinda surprised that I'm not. But I don't wanna go back to the way I was hooking up with people I don't care about. I thought I was happy with it, but this is just so much better and I'm not gonna let myself ruin it because I think it's scary. I'm not gonna let you, either."

There was a long pause. Both of them letting the moment sink in. It was a long time coming.

Well, it felt like it was anyway.

"So this is it?" Spencer asked.

Ashley nodded. "Yeah. This is it. Be my girlfriend."

The California girl was leaning in to kiss her again, positive that the answer would be yes.

"No."

Or not.

Ashley leaned back.

"What?"

Spencer untangled her fingers from Ashley's and wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and buried her head in the space between her neck and shoulder, enjoying the closeness.

"You have to end whatever you have going with Brendon first….and I have to talk to Aiden."

Ashley nodded, knowing Spencer could feel it, and reciprocated the hug.

Soon.

**Note: **I hope y'all liked it. I think you did. (I hope.) Nah, you did. (I hope….I'm insecure, could you tell?)

I tried not to give anything away with my note at the beginning, but the Spashleyness had officially begun. Please review.

Get it. Got it. Good.


	18. Ashley

**Note:** I literally have no excuse except for laziness.

sparkyleathers08: Finally! I've been trying to get you to fall in love with this story forever! I had a sneaking suspicion it would happen when Spashley happened. I couldn't resist putting in the thing with Carmen and wrestling because I used to watch it all the time with my brothers. Well, glad you finally love it. (insert smiley face here)

awe: You are the beast, my friend. You are the beast. (insert smiley face here)

slushhy: Sorry to keep you waiting. Hehe. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: I'm going to tell you right now, I don't think those last two suggestions are going to fit into the plot. Hehe. Yeah, I like it when they resolve these kinds of things before they move on. The hug definitely meant more than the kiss. Glad you like it. (insert smiley face here)

darkangeleyes23: Cliffhanger resolved. I'm glad that's it's loved though. (insert smiley face here)

2bz2breading: Thank you for working through your hate of Aiden to read this. I like him, but that's me. Hidden treasure? Really? Awe, shucks. (insert smiley face here)

iceonthewing: I'm pretty certain you're a frequent reviewer who changed their name, but I can't figure out who. Glad the cuteness was enjoyed. Spashley coming up! (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: **_**Ashley**_

Ashley's eyes blinked open until she fully came out of her sleep and the first thing she saw with her left cheek resting on the pillow and her body laying on her stomach was blonde hair covering part of Spencer's face as it lay on the pillow next to hers. Spencer was again curled up into a little ball, except this time her right hand stuck out, lying on the bed in front of her and Ashley smiled upon seeing and feeling their hands intertwined, not remembering if they fell asleep like that or if it happened while they were unconscious and not particularly caring either way.

The brunette stayed still, just watching Spencer sleep for a moment, not wanting to disturb her. This only lasted a few seconds until the need to use the toilet became annoyingly and urgently apparent. She easily extracted her hand from the blonde's loose grasp and pulled herself out of bed with as little disturbance to the bed and subsequently the other girl occupying it as possible.

After the pressure on her bladder had been relieved and her hands washed, Ashley walked back into her room and took note of the time supplied to her by the alarm clock on her nightstand. 9:52 am. Considering how late the two had gone to bed, Ashley was surprised she was awake that early. The yawn she produced told her she shouldn't be, so she carefully crawled back into bed, this time on her side facing Spencer. She reached out her hand and grasped her fingers around the blonde's, which still lay outstretched in the middle of the bed, smiling when she felt fingers return the slight grip while their owner remained asleep.

Ashley was just about to drift back off into dreamland when the grip of those fingers got even stronger. She opened her eyes and saw a blue pair staring back at her, lips smiling just a few inches below them making their early morning sparkle dance.

"G'morning," Spencer said in a raspy, barely-in-the-land-of-the-awake voice.

"Morning," Ashley said, sounding more awake than she felt.

"You were gone."

"I came back."

"Hmmm. Good." Spencer's eyes drifted shut before snapping open. "I have to go to the bathroom."

Ashley could barely contain her grin with her reply. "Shit happens."

"Uh-uh."

Spencer slowly made her way out of bed and to the bathroom and the brunette smiled after her knowing her little joke was lost in Spencer's early morning fog. She then softly laughed when she heard an "oh! ha-ha" coming from the bathroom and she knew the blonde had just gotten it.

Spencer crawled back into bed a minute later and rested her hand over Ashley's, running her thumb softly over the brunette's middle finger.

The blonde spoke so suddenly it took Ashley a moment to register it.

"I can sleep with you."

The first thing that came to Ashley's mind was "hell yeah!" and the fact that it came across to her as dirty was shown on her face because Spencer blushed and then explained.

"I meant literally. I can fall asleep here in your room. I think it's because I'm with you. You're familiar."

"Oh right. You told me about that sleepy thing once."

"That sleepy thing?"

"That's what I call it in my head."

Spencer smiled and shook her head. Sometimes Ashley was just so…. Ashley.

"So…" the brunette continued. "You feel comfortable enough with me to fall asleep then?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Did you uh…did you with Aiden?" the California girl felt like she shouldn't have asked that, but she was just too curious.

Spencer hesitated, but answered. "Technically no. But it might have been because of something else 'cause the only time I slept with him was after I…"

"Slept with him," Ashley finished.

"Yeah."

Ashley certainly didn't want to talk about that and Spencer didn't either. With no hesitation the blonde moved so that her head was resting on the same pillow as the brunette's. She wrapped her arms around the other girl's waist and the favor was returned. This lasted for only a second before the curse of morning breath made the close proximity of their faces less enjoyable and they both moved their heads backwards to get away from the smell.

"Can I borrow a toothbrush?" Spencer asked, both embarrassed and amused.

"Good idea."

The two made their way into the bathroom and brushed their teeth side-by-side. They caught each other's eyes in the mirror and smiled, their grins full of white foam.

Ahh, domesticity.

**XXX**

Spencer rushed up the path to her front door, key in hand, and before she went inside she made sure to look over her shoulder to send Ashley a grin and a wink, and then disappeared inside the house in a hurry, Ashley driving away after the door closed.

She was in so much trouble.

Apparently parents don't like it when their children stay out all night and don't call to let them know or don't answer their cell phones. Spencer knew she had lost quite a few 'responsibility points' for that.

The blonde had put her phone onto vibrate when she was watching wrestling at Jeremy's house and then forgot to set it back so she didn't hear her parents calling while her phone was in her purse the whole night. That didn't excuse her forgetting to call them though.

It suddenly came to her while she was brushing her teeth with Ashley, thinking about how domestic it was, that she hadn't let her parents know where she was. Then she checked her phone and saw the _thirteen _missed calls. That can't be a good omen.

She figured the only reason there wasn't an amber alert out for her was that her father had thought to call Aiden and he had told them she was at Ashley and Kyla's place. One of those missed calls had been from the boy warning her.

The moment the blonde fully stepped inside the house and closed the door behind her, Arthur and Paula were there, yelling and screaming about responsibility and consideration and how she had _privileges_, _not rights_, to certain things that could be taken away in a heartbeat.

Spencer nodded and said 'yes Sir' and 'yes Ma'am' at the appropriate times, but all she could really think about was talking to Aiden. Then the words 'you're grounded' were spoken and her attention immediately came back to the two people standing in front of her.

"What? That is _so_ unfair! It was a one time thing!" the girl yelled in her defense.

Her father looked like he might cave. Spencer was usually very good about these things.

Unfortunately, one look at her mother and Spencer knew she was done for. She couldn't exactly blame them. She was out all night and hadn't called or answered the phone. But she certainly didn't want to blame herself and blaming the parents was the appropriate teenager response.

"Go to your room. You're grounded for the rest of the day and tomorrow," Paula said in a voice that told Spencer there was no chance for bargaining.

"This is so fucking stupid!" the blonde girl yelled.

"Watch your language!"

"But this is not even fair!"

"You want me to add another day?" her mother warned.

That shut Spencer right up and she stomped up the stairs to her room.

**XXX**

Spencer had no computer, no television, and no cell phone. She liked reading and had plenty of books in her room, but right now that was not what she wanted to be doing. She had hoped to be able to talk to Aiden today about her and Ashley but now that was not going to happen until the day after tomorrow. Even if she could convince her dad to let her use her phone for just a bit, which she was considering doing so she could call her friends and let them know, that's not a conversation she wanted to have over the phone. It would have to wait.

She heard a knock on her door.

"What?" She was not in the best mood.

Arthur opened the door and the look on his face made her feel at least a little bad about her tone.

"Your mom and I have your cell phone downstairs on the counter. What does the whistling noise mean? It keeps going off," he asked.

"I have a text message," the blonde sighed.

"Oh, okay then."

"Hey, um, Daddy?' Spencer always used 'Daddy' when she was going to ask for something. "Do you think I could at least call my friends and let them know?"

Her father debated it in his head for a moment before conceding and he disappeared for a moment before returning to her room with the cordless house phone.

"I don't have their numbers memorized though. They're all in my cell."

Spencer couldn't help but realize how pathetic that was. She was addicted to that cell phone.

"Just don't tell your mother."

When her father returned and handed her the cell phone he had strict instructions for her. "You can only call one person and if you don't bring it back to me in five minutes I'm coming to get it."

"One person?"

"One. Person."

"Can it be two?" Spencer argued. "Please, just two and I'll still only take five minutes."

Arthur sighed. "Fine. Two people, five minutes."

With that her dad left the room, closing the door behind him.

Spencer immediately checked her text messages and saw that she had one from Ashley and one from Aiden, the two people she had been planning on calling anyway, both of them wanting to know if she was in trouble.

She called Aiden first and thanked him for calling her to warn her about her parents, even though she didn't get the message in time and told him about her grounding. She then made sure that they made plans for the day after tomorrow so she could talk to him, but did not let him know what it was about.

Then she called Ashley and quickly told her the morning's developments as she was fast running out of time before she had to give her phone back. Before they hung up the brunette promised that she would talk to Brendon today and tell him whatever they had going was over, although she did mention that it would probably be a phone conversation. Ashley felt no need to extend the same courtesies to him that Spencer was giving to Aiden and Spencer couldn't have cared either way.

When she hung up the phone, just in the nick of time, and returned it to her dad, she felt better and decided that for the time she was grounded she should finally read Lolita.

**XXX**

"Why are you being so difficult? Did you actually think this was going somewhere?"

Brendon had never been this annoying to Ashley before. In all fairness to him, this was coming out of right field. Or center field. Whatever. Ashley hated baseball.

"_But why now?" _he asked carefully into the phone.

Ashley began to pace her room.

"There's someone that I really like and they like me back," the California girl explained.

"_So you're dumping me for someone else?"_

"Dumping you? We were just hanging out."

"_Yeah, but I mean, c'mon. Weren't you just playing hard to get?"_

Okay, screw the 'in all fairness to him.'

"I had no intention of letting you get anything!"

"_Yeah, right." _

The brunette let out a frustrated growl. So much for him being a nice guy. "Whatever. Goodbye, Brendon."

Ashley quickly disconnected the call before he could say anything else and resisted the urge to chuck her phone across the room. She was in no mood to have to buy another cell phone.

Well, it hadn't been as quick and easy as she had imagined, but it was over. Then Spencer would talk to Aiden in two days and he'd be upset but he'd get over it and then Spencer would kiss her and she'd kiss back and…

Ashley wasn't all about sex when it came to the blonde, but she was definitely counting on her celibacy being over soon. Sure it had only been a few months, but the plan was to be a one-person kind of person. More specifically a one-Spencer kind of person.

Yeah, that worked.

The chime of the doorbell ringing throughout the mansion got her attention and she rushed downstairs hoping it was Carmen so she could at first coyly pretend she had a secret she planned on keeping and then tell and swear the other girl to secrecy until it was all in the open.

It was Aiden.

Okay, so not her first choice, but not someone she was disappointed to see.

"What's up?" Ashley asked as she let him in.

It wasn't unheard of for her friends to show up unannounced. Hell, sometimes they were there when she and Kyla weren't.

"The 'rents are fighting and Spencer is grounded. Can I camp out here for a while?" he asked unnecessarily.

"Puh-lease. Like you need a reason to be here." Ashley had intended for that to come out sarcastically and not so sentimentally sweet. Carmen could have pulled it off.

"You old softie." Speak of the devil.

"When did you get here?" Ashley asked her best friend as Aiden wandered into the kitchen, where Carmen just exited from, to look for those little fancy butter cookies the Davies always seemed to have.

"Since, like, eleven."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I was making myself pancakes."

"You made pancakes in my kitchen and didn't bother to ask me if I wanted any?"

"Well, I really only made enough for one person and-."

"Whatever," Ashley sighed and took Carmen by the arm, dragging her upstairs to her bedroom. "Wipe the syrup off your face, I got something to tell you."

**XXX**

"Kyla and I totally called it," Carmen said smugly as she leaned back on Ashley's bed, crossing her legs and propping her head up in her hands looking way too satisfied with herself.

"Yeah, yeah," the curly-haired brunette said absently.

"Does anyone else know yet?"

"Nope."

"Not even Kyla?" The black-haired girl sounded less sure of herself with that sentence.

"Since she knew that I like Spencer first, I figured you should be the first one to know that I got the girl," Ashley said absently, trying to keep it light but knowing that it meant a lot to her best friend.

"Sweet." Carmen smiled.

"Hey, for our first date, do you think I should take Spencer to Kirby's or Del Frisco's?" Ashley asked while looking the restaurants up online.

"I think those are places that should be saved for your one year anniversary. You should, however, treat your best friend to steakhouses like that all the time." If there was one thing Carmen loved, it was steak. Filet mignon. She had standards.

"Or maybe it should be Italian. No, gourmet Chinese. Spencer loves Chinese food. Benihana's?"

"That's Japanese."

"Oh yeah. Well still. I can't just take her to Pei Wei."

"They do a lot of different kinds of Asian food."

"P.F. Chang's isn't nice enough either."

"_That's_ Chinese."

"If I was in L.A. I'd take her to Spago, no question."

"Spago? What the fuck is that?"

"What if I flew us out to L.A. for our date-."

"Ashley! Shut up! What is wrong with you?" Carmen got off the bed and sat up on her best friend's desk next to her computer where she was still frantically searching for restaurants.

"I just need our first date to be perfect."

"Ash, come on. Spencer's not a wine and dine girl. On her first date with Aiden they went to Chili's."

Ashley finally turned away from her computer and focused on her best friend. "I'm not Aiden! And this is different. She has to know that she means something to me."

"She does. I promise you she does."

Ashley sighed. "She's seen me with other people. She knows what I was like."

"I don't understand. You've talked to her. You've told her how you feel. Why do you think she'll suddenly assume she's just another notch on the headboard?"

"I don't. I just…I just need to prove it to her. I can say whatever I want, but unless I show it to her, it doesn't mean anything." Ashley went back to her computer and continued looking up restaurants.

Carmen stood up and pulled Ashley's desk chair around with the girl still in it.

"Hey!" the California native shouted in protest.

The black-haired girl ignored her best friend and quickly pushed the chair in the direction of the bed before flinging her out of the chair and onto the mattress.

"And you did that because…?" Ashley asked, sitting up on her bed.

"Going big on the first date does not equal true affection," Carmen explained. "Yeah, you have the money for it, but that's not gonna mean shit to Spencer. You know how you can prove you're serious?"

"How?"

"By not fucking it up." Carmen began to list things on her fingers. "Be there for her. Treat her right. Tell her how you feel as much as you can. Don't screw around with other people."

"Do you honestly think I would cheat on her?" Ashley asked with annoyance and a little anger.

"No, but it is on the list of rules, so I figured I would just say them all."

"But… that's all just basic stuff. I wanna do all those things anyway."

"Yeah. That's kinda the point."

"Did I just learn a life lesson?"

"Did I just teach you a life lesson?"

The two best friends smiled at each other.

Carmen suddenly jumped onto the bed and hugged Ashley in a death grip, the other girl fighting to get out.

"We're growing up! Hold on for your life!" the black-haired girl yelled.

The two of them quickly dissolved into giggling fits.

**XXX**

Kyla had been with Jeremy and his friends all day and Carmen had left about an hour ago to spend time with Hannah. That left Ashley and Aiden It had been awhile since they had hung out just the two of them and Ashley had forgotten how easy the boy was to get along with.

They were shooting pool when the doorbell rang. Ashley left to answer it, going slowly, hoping one of the maids would get to it first. She knew where all her friends were, so she knew it couldn't be one of them. Because of that she didn't really care. Unfortunately, she got to the door first and was surprised and annoyed to find that it was Brendon.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you," the football player said, making his way into the mansion uninvited.

"Oh, c'mon. Just let it go," Ashley said, rolling her eyes. She really didn't get why this was such a big deal to him.

"No, I won't. We've been hanging out for months. I thought we were getting somewhere."

"I'm sorry, but we weren't," the California girl tried to explain.

"Who do you like?" Brendon asked seemingly out of the blue.

"What?"

"On the phone, you said there was someone else that you like and they like you. Who is it?"

"That's none of your business."

"Is it that Spencer chick?"

Ashley chose her words very carefully. "What makes you think that?"

"You talk about her all the time and you get this weird look on your face. Jeez, I'd heard some things about you but I didn't think they were true. Are you a lesbian?"

"I'm still not seeing how any of this is your business!"

"It's her isn't it? It's Spencer."

"Shut up."

"Isn't it?"

"Yes! Okay, yes! It's Spencer! She's who I want to be with! Now will you just go away?"

"What?" a new voice rang out.

Ashley and Brendon both looked to see Aiden with them in the large foyer.

"Shit." Ashley could think of no other word to appropriately describe this situation. "Aiden, I'm-."

"You and Spencer?" Aiden yelled out.

Ashley wanted to explain but it seemed Brendon wasn't finished yet. "So you're seriously dumping me for some chick?"

"Shut up!" both Ashley and Aiden yelled at the same time. Spencer wasn't just _some chick_.

"I can't believe it," Brendon said, exasperated. "You little fucking tease!"

Aiden was in front of the other boy in the blink of an eye delivering a swift punch in the face. Before the football player had time to fight back, the tall boy had grabbed him by the shirt and was forcing him out the door, yelling after him, "Don't you ever talk to her like that again! Stay the fuck away!" and slammed the door closed.

Aiden was still seething when he turned around, but he relaxed when he saw that Ashley looked near tears. He gathered her up in a hug and she gripped him back.

"He's an asshole. Don't listen to anything he says," the green-eyed boy told her.

"I know. Thanks."

They drew back from the hug and Aiden scratched the back of his neck.

"So, Spencer… likes you back?"

Ashley paused for a long moment before answering. "Yeah. Yeah, she does."

The basketball player looked like he was going to speak but Ashley continued. "I'm pretty sure she was going to tell you today, but then she got grounded."

"How long have you two… I mean, are you…?"

"No, no! It's not like that. We just… we know how we feel about each other. We haven't… done anything."

"How long have you known?"

"I think you should wait to talk to her about this stuff," Ashley suggested, shoving her hands into her pockets, a definite sign of nervousness.

"Yeah, I guess I should."

There was a long moment of awkward silence before Aiden pointed to the door and spoke. "I think I should go."

"Aiden, I'm sorry, it just-."

"Please don't. I can't right now. I mean, I know you… I know that… there's no… _fault_… I just… can't."

Ashley nodded even though he wasn't looking at her as he walked out the door, softly closing it behind him.

Wow. She _really _wished she could talk to Spencer.

**Note:** Well…

Get it. Got it. Good


	19. The Guillotine

**Note: **This is wrapping up. The next chapter might be the last.

iceonthewing: Ah! Old friend. The new name's pretty badass. I'm glad my stuff is worth waiting for. I'm pretty proud of the Ashley/Carmen dialogue. Only a best friend could do that. Yes, Brendon needed to be punched. He originally wasn't meant to be a bad guy, but I decided it fit better. You didn't have to wait long for this one. (insert smiley face here)

lalalalee: You make me blush. Aiden's had a little, not a lot, bit a little time to get past Spencer, so he's more shocked than anything. And I could never forget y'all. You're why I write. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: I disagree with you being lame. There, I said it. You're awesome! I got a real reaction out of that? Badass! Don't you just love it when people you hate are out of the picture? I felt it was time. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: There is no such thing as out of line. It's a lie society likes to tell. Don't believe it. Aiden: 1, Brendon: 0. Oh Carmen. I feel like the character on the show had such an opportunity to be great. I had to make her that kind of person. Here's that chapter. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER NINETEEN: **_**The Guillotine**_

When Aiden walked into his house, his parents were (surprise, surprise) arguing. He could make out that it had something to do with the television, but other than that, the actual issue was covered up with personal insults and deflecting sarcasm.

Normally when this happened, the boy went straight to his room, locked the door, and blasted music. Something angry and full of teenage angst with a basic sound that came off as just noise to his parents. The lyrics always mentioned death or dying and screaming was an integral part of the songs.

Today, Aiden did not do this. Today, he had had enough.

"What is so wrong with this T.V., huh? Oh, Mr. Big Shot has to have the best one in town! Is that all you care about?"

"Well _excuse me_ for wanting to have nice things! So what? The only nice things we can have are those stupid antiques from the nineteenth century? When can I get something that I want?"

"Don't you dare act like you don't ever get anything your way!"

"I DON'T!"

"ARE YOU INSANE? You get things all the time! A new television will NOT be one of them!"

"YOU SELFISH PIG!"

"BASTARD!"

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" Aiden had screamed for so loud and so long he was now almost gasping for air.

He immediately had his parent's attention, which was a nice change from the ordinary. They looked like they were about to berate him, but he spoke before they could.

"I am so sick of you two! All you do is argue and it's killing me. I don't understand why you can't just get along. You used to. If you hate each other this much just get a divorce because that can't be worse than this. It just can't! So either split up or figure it out. Either way, you have to stop arguing or else _I'm _gonna be the one who leaves."

Aiden's parents were still shocked into silence when the green-eyed boy stormed his way upstairs and slammed the door. He wanted to call Spencer more than anything right now, but he knew she wouldn't be able to answer the phone. Besides, he and the blonde both had other things they needed to talk about first and he needed to cool down, not just from discovering that Spencer and Ashley liked each other, but now also from finally giving his parents a piece of his mind. It hadn't been as satisfying as he had hoped.

He knew one, or maybe both of them would come upstairs soon and try to talk to him. Apologize and maybe offer to get him a new video game or something if they were feeling guilty enough. He didn't want to hear it. He just wanted them to figure it out. Anything to stop the yelling.

The telltale sound of knuckles hitting the wood of his door filled the room.

"Aiden? Can we come in?"

They wouldn't change.

**XXX**

Carmen had been in bed with Hannah when Ashley had called her.

Not _in bed_ in bed. Not anymore at least.

They were post-sex cuddling and while the black-haired girl was glad that at least sexy time had not been interrupted, she enjoyed cuddling with her girlfriend. Still, she was bound by the duty of best friends.

Hannah had understood and with a kiss and a look in her eyes that promised more time in bed, Carmen left to sort out whatever emotional turmoil Ashley had been subjected to.

"Brendon is an asshole!"

That was the first thing Carmen heard when she had gotten to the Davies Estate.

"What happened? You said you ended things with him," Carmen said.

"I did! He was a dick on the phone, but this!"

Ashley wasn't pacing like Carmen expected her to be, but sitting on the couch in her room, nearly bouncing with her anger. Carmen wished she would just pace.

"What happened?"

"He came over here."

"When?"

"After you let. He came and tried to… win me back or something." Ashley sounded confused with the last part of her sentence. Like she wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"Are you serious? I thought what y'all had was just… nothing."

"That's what I thought. Apparently he just thought I was playing hard to get. He called me a tease." The last part was said quietly, like she might believe what she was saying.

"He did _what_?" Carmen suddenly stood up and looked like she was about to leave. "Excuse me, I have to go kick this guy's ass."

"Oh, sit down, MacGyver."

"How am I MacGyver?"

"I don't know. It sounded witty. Just sit down."

Carmen did as she was told. "So you don't want me to beat him up?"

"Aiden already did. Punched him in the face."

"Good. Wait, Aiden was there?"

"Yeah, that's kind of what the real issue is." The curly-haired brunette finally stood up and started pacing.

"Aiden punching out a dickhole for calling you a tease, which you are _not_ by the way, is an issue? I gotta be honest, it sounds like a good thing."

"That is a good thing. The issue is that Brendon accused me of liking someone else and I guess I must have mentioned Spencer too many times because he guessed it was her and I admitted it. Aiden heard. He also heard the part where I said she likes me back."

"Oh damn. Was he really mad?"

"And really upset. I mean, I knew he would be, but I still wasn't prepared for it. Mostly because I thought he would be finding out from Spencer. He left. Needed to think or something."

"Do you think y'all are gonna be okay?" Carmen asked carefully.

Ashley shook her head like it was nothing. "Oh yeah, of course. It's just, he was really upset. I never meant to hurt him."

The California girl looked near tears so Carmen sat closer to her on the couch and opened up her arms expectantly. Ashley burrowed herself into her best friends arms and cried.

"Does Spencer know?" Carmen asked.

Shit.

**XXX**

Aiden spent the majority of the next day at White Rock Park. He didn't sit by the lake, crying his eyes out and thinking about his aching love for Spencer Carlin. Well, he did sit by the lake, and he did think about Spencer quite a bit. But mostly, he thought about himself. It felt good. He hadn't taken the time to think about himself in a while.

He liked to think he had a pretty decent life. Certainly better than what a lot of other people got. Sure his parents fought non-stop and he couldn't decided whether he really wanted them to get a divorce or not, and his soul mate had broken his heart and now apparently liked someone else along with all those other typical hormonal and identity issues that teenage boys had to go through. But he lived in a nice house with plenty of luxuries. He attended a private school and was getting a good education. He had an amazing talent for basketball. And he had friends. Really good friends. He had Spencer. He didn't have her the way he wanted to have her, but he still had her.

He wasn't the happiest he could be, but he certainly wasn't spiraling into depression. His life was actually pretty good.

So Spencer didn't want to be with him romantically. He would get over it.

He _would_ get over it.

Aiden was so sure now. He would get over Spencer. He would move on and find a nice girl. He would do that thing that the blonde had been talking about and really _fall_ in love. And she would fall in love with him. He was only seventeen. There's no rush. What does he need the love of his life for now anyway?

No, he wouldn't meet her until he was a man. When he was out of his parent's house. When he had to shave _every_ day. When he had finally reached his father's height of 6'4" like the doctor was so sure that he would. Yes, that's when he would meet her.

And she would meet Spencer and the blonde would scrutinize her until she finally declared that this girl, no this _woman_, was perfect.

That was going to be his life. Hopefully.

But first he had to get over Spencer. And he would. He could feel it. He knew this because he was happy for her. Lately, she had been so cheerful. Now, Spencer was never a downer, at least not as long as he had known her, which really wasn't long (although it felt like a lifetime) but it had been different after they broke up. And for the past few days it had been almost impossible to ignore. At least when Ashley was around. That had to be the brunette's doing.

He wished he could be the one to make her feel that way, but hey, best friends make each other happy right? Ashley and Carmen make each other happy. Spencer certainly makes him happy. Aiden decided he definitely made Spencer happy.

Now Ashley would make her happier.

And if she broke Spencer's heart…there would be hell to pay.

**XXX**

Ashley called Spencer bright and early the day she was free from being grounded.

At 9:01 am Spencer awoke to her cell phone ringing much too close to her ear and much louder than what was acceptable at that time of the morning. One of her parents must have left it there for her before they went to work. Groping around for the device on her nightstand that she had so desperately wanted back the day before but now, with it blaring "And Your Bird Can Sing" by The Beatles, suddenly bringing her out of her much-loved sleep, she wasn't so sure she wanted it anymore.

"Hullo," the blonde said groggily into the speaking device, none too happy with whoever was on the other line, not having bothered to check the caller ID.

"Hey, Spence." Ashley sounded a little more alert than the girl she had called, but just as tired. She had set her alarm for 9 am that morning, specifically to call Spencer and let her know about the past couple days events before the blonde was going to see Aiden. She knew the girl would be mad at first for being woken up, but glad for the information.

"Ash? This better be good."

"It is, I swear. Some shit went down while you were grounded."

"_Some shit went down_? We're not gangsters, Ash."

"Sorry Miss Cranky Pants. I'll just give you the abbreviated version. Ended thing with Brendon. Brendon get mad. Brendon come to house and try take me back. Figured out I like you and you like me. Aiden hear. Aiden unhappy. Aiden need space. Oh, and Aiden punch Brendon for calling me tease."

Spencer sighed into the phone. So Aiden knew. She would be seeing him today, so hopefully he was done needing his space. She really wanted talk to him. She had been hoping to be the one to tell the boy about her and Ashley, but the brunette couldn't be blamed for that. She did need to tell Ashley something though.

"Cave-Ashley?

"Yes Miss Cranky Pants?"

"You're not a tease."

Ashley sighed on the other end. She knew that, but it had still hurt and it felt nice to hear people say that she wasn't. "Thanks, Spence. And for the record, we are total gangsters. This can be readily learned from our pronunciation of the 'er' at the end of gangster."

"Noted."

"Back to bed?"

"Mmhmm."

"Me too. I'll see you today, right?"

"I'll come to your cave this afternoon after I talk to Aiden."

"Good."

"Very good."

Both girls hung up their phones smiling.

**XXX**

Aiden picked Spencer up from her house around noon and the two headed to lunch at Texadelphia. It wasn't the blonde's favorite place to eat, but the green-eyed boy loved it and she figured if something as simple as a cheese steak sandwich could help make him any happier then she was glad to let him have it.

Sitting across from each other, avoiding any prolonged eye contact, sipping their drinks, picking at the chips and queso on the table, and waiting for their order to be ready, Spencer spoke first.

"Ashley called me this morning. Told me you knew."

"Yeah," Aiden answered distantly. He didn't want to be distant, but he felt in that moment that he had to be. Like maybe it would make this easier for him.

"She also told me Brendon called her a tease and you punched him."

That got a smile out of him and put them both at ease. "Yeah, I did."

"Good. He's a dick."

"He is and she can do better." They finally looked at each other. "She has."

Spencer knew he was talking about her and blushed.

The tall boy started to speak again before he was interrupted. "I just have to ask-."

"Aiden, your order is ready. Aiden," the girl announcing the orders on the loud speaker said, her monotone never wavering.

The boy rolled his eyes, got up to get their food and hurried back, anxious to ask all the questions he needed to before he lost his nerve. He set the tray on the table and sat back down, neither of them going for their food just yet. They would eat in a moment. Now they needed to talk.

"I have to ask," he began again. "and I know I'm wrong and it's stupid, but did you and Ashley have anything going…while we were together?"

"No! No, god no." Spencer's answer was so insistent and shocked that if it weren't the truth she could've earned an Academy Award for her acting.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I just had to ask. I knew it but I just had to."

Spencer nodded and took no offense.

That first kiss with Ashley, back when she and the boy across from her were together, that was nothing. It barely happened, she had immediately pulled away, and it wasn't important. She felt a small amount of guilt for feeling no guilt about it, but she would never say anything. She didn't feel like she had lied to him just now, knew that she hadn't, so her thoughts about it were pushed out of her mind before they were ever really there. That was between her and Ashley.

"So then," Aiden spoke again. "You really like her and you're…gay, I'm guessing."

"I don't actually know about the gay part. I honestly don't care. I just like Ashley…" She hesitated before she continued, like she wasn't sure she would be allowed to add this last part of her sentence. "So, so much."

The boy nodded solemnly, his face serious and concentrating. "How long?"

"I'm not really sure. We just started getting closer until I realized that what I feel for her isn't strictly within the boundaries of friendship."

"Did you like her while we were together?" Aiden looked scared of the answer, but he wanted honesty. He needed it.

"I think I did, but I just didn't realize it." Spencer anticipated his next question and continued. "She wasn't the reason I broke up with you. You know why I did."

"And you…I mean, we're…" The basketball player had no idea where he was going with this.

But Spencer did. "You are one of the most important people in my life. I don't know how long Ashley and I will last. I think I could fall in love with her but I don't know if we'll spend the rest of our lives together. But you will always be in my life. There's just no other option. You're my best friend. You're like… my soul." Spencer did not once look away from the boy across from her when she spoke and neither did he.

"You're my soul, too." There was a long pause before Aiden picked up his sandwich and held it in his hands before speaking, smiling. "And when I get married and fall in love and you're my best man, I might have to make you wear a suit."

Spencer laughed and went for her food, too. "Well you're gonna be my maid of honour and then you'll wear a dress."

"Deal."

"Deal."

And they both took a big bite at the same time.

**Note: **Almost over. So sad. You should review because if I know people like it, I'll know I should write more stories.

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	20. My Apocalypse

**Note: **'Tis time. This is the last chapter. I always have a hard time ending things, so I hope it's okay.

Danni8x10: Thank you. Cuteness is good. (insert smiley face here)

sparkyleathers08: I'll miss getting your reviews. Thank you so much for your loyalty. I fuckin' love you, dude. (insert smiley face here)

iceonthewing: I've got some ideas for more stories, so hopefully I will. Thanks so much for your reviews. (insert smiley face here)

darkangeleyes23: I figure the drama of the story is over, so no need to add more. Thank you. (insert smiley face here)

Elly1212: Sorry about your insomnia but I'm glad you found my story to make it better! I don't like making Aiden a bad guy and I thought he was better than people gave him credit for in the show. I'm not sure what you mean by 'in person' though. As for the kiss, I don't know if you'll get what you looking for in this story, but I still hope you like it. Thank you. (insert smiley face here)

imaferrari: My stance on fate didn't really influence my writing much, but I did feel a little silly writing it. But hey, if you believe in it, more power to you. And rambling is good. Thank you. (insert smiley face here)

Inkmstr10: Yeah, Aiden had to come through. He and Spencer are just too closely bonded for it not to work out. Thank you for your reviews. (insert smiley face here)

**CHAPTER TWENTY: **_**My Apocalypse**_

When Spencer arrived at the Davies Estate later that afternoon, there was a single red rose taped to the door along with a note that read 'For Spencer, if anyone else besides Spencer takes this, I will **KILL** you.' The blonde laughed and stuck the note in her pocket, wanting to keep that small memento that contained something so very Ashley-like and kept the flower in her fingers as she rung the doorbell to the mansion. The brunette opened the door before the chime even finished as if she was waiting for it. The blonde figured she probably was, which even in her own head sounded conceited, but since it was most likely the truth, it was probably okay to think.

"Hey," Ashley, who had in fact been waiting by the door, said, opening it for Spencer to come in and waiting for the blonde to enter before closing it, something unusual in and of itself as the California girl typically just opened the door and walked away, allowing the person coming inside to close it.

Spencer responded almost shyly, "Hi."

The blonde was relieved when there was no littering of rose petals and a candle lit dinner or some other type of big romantic set up waiting for her. Spencer liked simple. She liked small gestures that were not over the top with grandeur. Something like a simple rose taped to a door with her name on it.

"Do you like the rose?" Ashley asked as the two remained in the foyer, standing apart at an awkwardly appropriate distance.

"I love it," Spencer said, bringing the flower up to her nose and peering at the other girl.

"I wanted to do something bigger and romantic but Carmen talked me out of it. I know you like to keep things simple, but sometimes I just… I wanna give you everything I can."

Spencer found Ashley's quiet honesty and short rambling adorable and her words quite easily applied to her as well. She wanted to give the brunette everything. The difference was, Spencer didn't have much to give by way of expensive romance, a meager allowance her only means of finance. Ashley on the other hand had a virtually limitless amount of money to spend on whatever she pleased.

Spencer suddenly felt very uneasy with these thoughts running through her head. What kind of roles would they fall into with Ashley wanting to spend large sums of money on her and Spencer refusing, but offering nothing in return?

"Hey, what's wrong?" the curly-haired girl asked, noticing the fall of Spencer's grin off her face. She placed her hands on the blonde's upper arms and rubbed them slowly up and down, a familiar gesture that the Ohio native enjoyed as being a part of the other girl's nature.

Spencer decided that Ashley's effortless honesty should be returned. "I know you want to do all of these great, huge, romantic, lovely things for me, and while I'll always say you don't have to do them because you honestly don't need to, I won't be able to reciprocate. I can't give you everything that you can give me. I can't offer the things that you can offer."

It took Ashley a moment to compose her answer, but she was satisfied with what she said. "But I don't need any _thing_ from you, Spencer. Just you."

"That's all I need from you, too."

"O…kay." The brunette went over the conversation in her head a few times and decided that she didn't understand it. "Then what's the problem? I'm confused. Can I buy you flowers?"

Spencer shook her head and smiled, not having made complete sense to herself either. She took a breath. "Let me try this again. I don't need big, over-the-top romance because it makes me feel like I'm being bought and I like to keep it simple. I also, however, wish that I could offer the same things that you want to give me, but I can't, so I guess you could say I have a bit of an inferiority complex. I wanna give you everything that you wanna give me, even the things I don't feel comfortable receiving, but I can't and you can. So let's just skip all that and give each other nothing but ourselves." The blonde felt very proud of that last part, having just thought of it on the spot. It sounded very commercially-successful-romance-comedy-like.

Ashley took a moment to take in everything Spencer had said and quickly analyzed it, finding it acceptable. "I can do that." But she still had to ask. "Can I at least get you flowers?"

Spencer nodded, laughing. "Flowers are good."

"What's your favorite kind?"

The blonde held up the rose. "You know me well. I know they're cliché, and usually I hate that, but there's just something about a red rose." She eyed Ashley. "What's your favorite?"

Ashley grinned. "Purple iris."

"I'll remember that."

"So we'll give each other ourselves and flowers?"

"Ourselves and flowers."

"Does part of you giving me yourself extend to your ability to open packages of chips because there's a new bag of Cheetos in the kitchen and…?"

Ashley couldn't finish her sentence before the blonde had made her way into the Davies kitchen, dragging the other girl with her to lend her package-opening abilities for however long the brunette needed them.

**XXX**

Spencer and Ashley's first date was simple. Ashley arrived at the blonde's house with a red rose and Spencer answered her door holding a purple iris. They ate at Royal China and rather than one of them paying or going dutch, Spencer paid for Ashley's meal and Ashley paid for Spencer's. They then got ice cream at Marble Slab using the same payment plan as they had for dinner and afterwards at the last minute decided to go bowling. They skipped the bumpers and both of them were terrible so it was really a competition to see who could manage the fewest gutter balls. In the end, they decided it was a tie.

It was nearing 11:30 pm and the couple sat in Ashley's car on Spencer's driveway, neither ready for the night to end.

"So, you know," Ashley broke the silence. "The last time I officially asked you to be my girlfriend, you shot me down."

A coy smile graced the blonde features. "Sorry about that."

"So everything's squared away now, right? Everything we've needed to deal with, we've dealt with. So now, there's nothing standing in our way. There's nothing else we need to fix, correct?"

"Just one thing."

Ashley looked surprised. "What's that?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" The blonde asked with a slightly smug smile on her face.

Ashley shook her head and grinned. "You're sorta stealing my thunder."

"Is that a no?"

"That's an emphatic and enthusiastic _yes_."

"Good. Now walk me to my door and give me a long kiss goodnight. I have to be inside soon," Spencer said before stepping out of the car.

Ashley grinned, like she always seemed to be doing around the blonde, and followed suit.

While standing outside the Carlin's front door, Spencer wrapped her arms around Ashley's waist and Ashley did the same, simply standing for a moment before they both leaned in and kissed for the first time as girlfriends. It was long and slow and sweet and everything a perfect kiss should be.

And later that night, before they new couple went to bed, they talked on the phone until they were too tired to speak.

**XXX**

Carmen was bored. Kyla was slightly less bored than Carmen. Ashley was bored, but occupying herself by seeing how far she could inch her hand up her girlfriend's thigh before it was swatted away. Spencer couldn't tell you if she was bored or not. She was too busy trying to determine how far she could let Ashley's hand get up her thigh before she was forced to either push it away or drag her to a secluded area. Who was the most bored?

You know you're truly back into the school year when you start regarding random situations as word problems.

And the correct answer was Carmen with a remainder of a very frustrated Spencer.

For three out of the four girls being a lesbian of some level, they sure as hell didn't care about sports, particularly basketball. They did, however, care about Aiden…and Glen. The Greenhill boy's varsity basketball team was playing St. Marks, the school's biggest rival. Or so they've been told.

The only reason they came was in support of the tall boy, as they had each promised him they would attend at least three games. This promise was pointless though as Spencer, just like Clay, was forced to go to all of the games with her parents who were also in attendance, although stationed on the other side of the gym, to support her brother. She would then drag Ashley to as many games as her pout-head-tilt combination could manage. The California girl would prod Carmen along with them for as many times as the best friend card would work. The black-haired girl would ask Hannah to come, and then Hannah would just laugh and shake her head no, so in an effort to spread the boredom, she would nudge Kyla along. Kyla could have wrangled Jeremy into coming but instead decided to end the vicious cycle and simply agreed to go, though she regretted her 'good deed' every time.

There had been seven games so far and they had each attended them all.

Aiden knew his friends were bored, but he liked having them there, even if they were barely paying attention. The four girls at least noticed that the buzzer had sounded and Greenhill had won.

"Finally," Carmen said, standing up immediately along with Kyla.

Spencer grabbed Ashley's hand and pulled her mind out of the gutter, the couple following their friends down the bleachers to wait for Aiden in the lobby.

While Carmen and Kyla occupied themselves with the ping-pong table that resided in the building, which was for once not already in use, the girlfriend's sat down on the concrete floor with their backs against the wall. Ashley took a hold of Spencer's hand, absentmindedly tracing the lines of the blonde girl's palm.

"I can't believe you managed to get me here…. again," the brunette said.

"Oh, you know you love it," the Ohio native answered.

"Basketball? Uh, no, I don't."

"Not that. That I get you to do things."

"Are you kidding me? You know I'm still having nightmares because of that stupid horror movie marathon you made me watch."

"Oh, come on. Like you don't get me to do things all the time?"

"Name one."

"I came over to your place last Saturday at 9 am to make you breakfast," Spencer said. She still couldn't quite figure out what had made her agree to that.

Ashley grinned. "Those pancakes were good."

"And I did your Geometry homework for you."

"I'm no good at math."

"_And_ I think I've killed _every_ bug you've seen since we got together."

"I drove you to a dentist appointment two weeks ago," Ashley argued.

"I straighten your hair all the time," Spencer countered.

"I give you piggyback rides."

"I talked a police officer out of giving you a speeding ticket."

"I…" Ashley paused and looked around. People were passing through the lobby and not paying them any attention, but she still didn't want to take any chances. She brought her hand up to block her mouth and whispered in her girlfriend's ear.

Spencer's face flushed pink in embarrassment over Ashley's words. "I told you never to bring that up again."

"I know, I'm just saying that was-."

"I know."

"I mean, even Nurse Julie said that was a medical phenom-."

"I _know_."

"And I had to-."

"_I know_." Spencer was gritting her teeth now. "It was no picnic for me either, Ashley," the blonde whispered harshly, her tone clipped. There was no reason for that little problem to ever be discussed or mentioned or thought of ever again. "Anyway, whatever. Are we really arguing over which one of us is more whipped?"

Ashley laughed. "I guess we are. Wow, that's kinda pathetic. Why do we do these things for each other?"

Spencer brought her eyes up to meet the brunette's and the moment turned serious.

"I know why I do," the blonde said, her voice a little quieter.

"Why?" Ashley prodded.

"Because I love you."

The California girl leaned her head back against the wall she sat against and sighed, the words she just heard too great not to bask in. She then responded, "That's why I do things for you, too."

Spencer smiled coyly. "Say it."

Ashley grinned. "I love you."

The couple shared a chaste kiss suitable for the public eye before the rowdy noise of some members of the basketball team could be heard making their way out of the locker room. Aiden was among them and approached his parents first who were finally trying to at least be civil with each other, their divorce not yet finalized. They congratulated him on his game and he smiled at their attention before assuring them he would see them later and heading towards the ping-pong table were he spotted a distressed Carmen getting her ass handed to her by Kyla.

Spencer and Ashley saw Aiden approach their friends and they stood up off the ground with a promise to each other of more fun later before going to greet him.

"Hey, let's get out of here. I'm hungry. El Fenix?" So it wasn't so much a greeting as it was a demand disguised as a question, but Ashley had a serious craving for Mexican food.

"Sure," Aiden agreed while Carmen and Kyla nodded.

"Can we do Mi Cocina, instead?" Spencer asked.

The blonde and the brunette looked at each other, having a small stare-down. They were trying to see which one of them would give in first. To determine who was more whipped.

This went on for a minute before Aiden interrupted. "Screw you both. We're going to Rafa's."

Carmen and Kyla agreed if only to stop the stupid little showdown the couple was having.

Spencer and Ashley consented and the friends started to make their way out of the building before the blonde was called over by her parents. Spencer rolled her eyes, but complied, telling her friends she would be back in a minute.

While her girlfriend spoke to her parents and brothers and her stepsister gloated to her best friend about her ping-pong skills, Ashley spoke to Aiden.

"You played well."

"Ha. Like you were watching," the boy said lightheartedly. "You were probably trying to feel up Spencer the whole time."

Ashley gave a nervous laugh and blushed. Aiden caught this and cleared his throat.

"I'm happy for you two," he said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can see that you make her happy and she makes you happy and that makes me…well, happy."

Ashley looked up at the boy who no one really ever seemed to give enough credit to and smiled. "Thanks, Aiden." She then noticed how far she was looking up. "Did you get taller?"

The green-eyed boy's smile widened. "Yeah, I'm 6'4" now."

Ashley nodded, impressed. He was more than a foot taller than her. "Nice. Chicks dig that."

Aiden wiggled his eyebrows. "Oh, I know."

The curly-haired brunette hit his arm lightly. "Are you seeing someone? Have you been holding out on us?"

This got Carmen and Kyla's attention.

"What? You're seeing someone?" Carmen asked.

"Yep," Ashley responded.

"No, I'm-," the boy tried to explain but wasn't able to finish.

"You got a girl, Aiden?" Spencer asked, rejoining the group after speaking with her family.

He and the blonde made eye contact and both smiled.

"No, I'm not," he insisted. "But Jenna Peterman was totally flirting with me the other day. I think I might ask her out."

"Jenna Peterman? She's hot. Go for it," Spencer said.

"She passes the Spencer Inspection?" Aiden asked.

"Well, if you two get serious I'll need to have a talk with her. But don't worry, I'll do it after you get some," the blonde said cheekily.

Aiden laughed, Ashley grinned, Carmen shuddered at the thought of heterosexual sex, and Kyla rolled her eyes.

"Good," the tall boy said. "Now c'mon. We're going to Rafa's."

The five friends walked out of the building, Spencer and Ashley holding hands.

**END**

**Note: **Well, it may not have been everything you were expecting, but I'm rather pleased with it and I hope you are, too. For anyone who was anticipating some sort of sex scene or something steamy, sorry. That's not really something that I include in my writing. Not part of my style.

Thank you to everyone who read, whether you reviewed or not. I appreciate you taking the time to read my little stories.

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